Fern, Unfolding

Every year, a volunteer fern pokes up through a seam in the sidewalk along the side of my house. Neighbors and friends comment on how bizarre it is to see a large, luscious plant growing from an impossibly small, concrete-surrounded section of soil — in fact, it looks from a distance as if the fern is growing right out of the cement. When I stop to look at this fern, I am reminded that nature’s energy is boundless, that it is always “on” and in a state of action. Nature’s job is to “do”. At these times, I tell myself to sit and let nature do the doing, and the sun-warmed concrete next to this fern, unfolding, is a great place to take that sit-down respite.