Be Wise...

This sweet little bush is a Barbary plant.
It is currently on the endangered list.
It is indiginous to the California area but there are very few of these bushes left in the wild.
A friend who has been a real 'caretaker' of the land, planted one of these 'back' into nature.
His father had been growing smaller plants in his backyard that had been off-shoots of a larger plant that had been in the wild.
When the plants got large enough to survive on their own, he would replant them in the wild.
This little Barbary is doing quite well.
The reason is that this man regularly watches over the plant and makes sure that it gets just exactly what it needs to thrive.
There was a period of several months where he was out of commission.
He developed cancer and had to have multiple surgeries.
Several of us became concerned about the little Barbary and knew how much it meant to him that it survive and thrive.
So we decided to visit the little bush regularly and 'love it' as Phil had been.
We 'fussed' amongst ourselves as to what was the right amount of water and the right amount of pruning.
We had good intentions, but we didn't truly understand the needs of this
special bush like Phil, the caretaker, did.
Several times, we almost killed the little bush.
But, somehow it survived in spite of us.
Thank goodness, Phil recovered from his illness and has returned to tend the special bush.
Those of us who 'stood in for him' on this very important mission were reminded of the importance of wisdom.
Good intentions did go a long way.
But what would have been best is a combination of good intentions and great wisdom.
We learned that good intentions alone can destroy unknowingly.
True healing incorporates both intention and wisdom.