We Are a Garden

This Week’s Quotation:

Consider the flowers of a garden. Though differing in kind, color, form, and shape, yet, inasmuch as they are refreshed by the waters of one spring, revived by the breath of one wind, invigorated by the rays of one sun, this diversity increaseth their charm, and addeth unto their beauty. How unpleasing to the eye if all the flowers and plants, the leaves and blossoms, the fruits, the branches and the trees of that garden were all of the same shape and color!

 ~Baha’u’llah- Persian religious Leader, Founder of the Baha’iFaith, Excerpt from Tablets of the Divine Plan

We Are a Garden

Diversity is a hallmark/defining quality of the Divine in this world. Ecosystems rely on a fine balance of diversity of flora and fauna in order to thrive and adapt to changing environments. Diversity is essential for ecosystems to be resilient in an ever-changing world. We as humans are part of these ecosystems and diversity applies to us as much as it does plants and animals.

Not only is diversity among living things a tool of survival, it also enriches life. Baha’u’llah poetically speaks to this, reminding us of the beauty of a garden in all its variety of colors, textures, shapes, and forms. Variety enriches life and heightens our ability to attune to the Divine. 

So is it with diversity among humans—diversity of color, shape, thought, personality, gifts and talents. A mixture of these aspects makes life dynamic and reflects the nature of universal/Divine energy in its variety of expressions. The nature of this earthly realm is abundant variety, extensive multiplicity. We are made from that.

Mindful Explorations

Do you honor diversity in your fellow humans? What does this look like for you? What does it feel like to consciously acknowledge divine variety in the world? In your community? In your family? How can you be a champion of diversity in your field?