Motivational Plants

No, I am not going to talk about an elixir mix of herbal tea, or incense that gives you a spike of motivation. A “motivational plant” is a term I made up to describe plants that grow in interesting conditions or in interesting ways.

Interesting conditions.

Humans — often the well-off humans — have a tendency to get caught up in what they don’t have or what they can’t be. We look at the people around us and pity ourselves for not doing as well. We blame where we came from and we want to be somewhere else.

Plants don’t have an option, so they give it their all wherever their seed landed and try to bloom where they’re planted.

The result is some motivational stuff.

Motivational plant growing out of a crack under abandoned Hindsburg Bridge.

*Plant in crack of abandoned lift bridge road.*

I am especially fascinated by plants who live their lives on the edge. Whether it’s cliffs…

…or on the edge of a creek/river.

Interesting ways.

For various reasons, plants grow in odd ways.

Sometimes plants get really big. And that just looks cool.

An interesting thing about plants is that they can get cancer — abnormal cell growth — and it’s not exactly deadly.

Trees can even be hallow on the inside and still alive. (Though people can be too, metaphorically).

Plants can get other diseases that are harmful. But will still keep on keeping on! I admire their dedication to searching for the sunshine amongst life’s obstacles.

As a tiny child, I dubbed the following tree “the 4 Tree.”

Located on my grandparent’s farm, the 4 Tree has become a family icon, acting as the centerpiece for annual family photoshoots.

According to my grandmother, the tree used to be a “normal” tree, growing vertically and all. Then it started growing horizontally. Then it got better and started growing vertically on both ends of its horizontal trunk. The result? A freak of nature I absolutely adore.