Better Together Than Apart, Life Lessons From Nature on Abundance and Reciprocity

Nature has this way of giving us precious life lessons. Recently, I purchased what I call a value pack, a mixed flower pot with different types of pretty annuals: petunias, calibrachoa and vervain. Of course, my first instinct was to attempt to get the most return out of my new investment. I strategically separated each plant from each other, spreading them apart as what I foresaw was an expansion in growth and subsequently a "bang for my buck." Boy was I so wrong. It turns out that the flowers actually thrive better together than apart.

Together they support each other and give each other shade when temperatures are high and water is scarce. Not the kind that brings you down but the kind that shelters you. Apart they wither, too exposed to the elements, too vulnerable to potential predators. Together they retain more water, not the kind that smothers you, but the kind that lifts you up. Without their neighborly support they begin to extinguish and die out.

I feel as though this is also true with humanity, we thrive better together than apart. Together we can get through tough unexpected turbulences. Together we can support each other through life's storms. Apart we many times struggle to survive, but doing it together makes any transition run smoothly.

While observing this collective of flowers, I made further correlations. I contemplated how mutual human exchange offers stability and abundance. How through partnership and collaboration where each party gives and receives, not necessarily equally, but in a way that benefits the whole...standing together is inevitably better than standing apart.