They say comparison is the thief of joy.  I agree.  Although I’m also guilty of comparison.  My business has had some setbacks.  Some as recent as the decision to rebrand.  Often the setback is me.  Regardless, it’s now where I thought it would be or where I wanted it to be by now.  Sometimes, when I’m not the best version of myself, I find myself comparing my business to other businesses like mine.  Or comparing myself to what others are doing.   Maybe you have done the same. 

When this happens, I remind myself that we are on our own individual journeys and there is no way I can compare my journey to someone else’s.  All our journeys come with peaks and valleys. 

Recently, nature reminded me again that we are all on our individual journeys.   The reminder came in the form of 5 avocado pits.  

My husband has used the pandemic to try different things.  He started with Fancy Pantry Dinners and making his own deck furniture.  Recently he tried making ginger beer from scratch and growing avocado trees.   It’s the story of his avocado trees I want to tell you about today.  

The origin

5 avocado’s used to make guacamole.  Delicious guacamole.  5 pits cleaned, wrapped in damp paper towel and placed in baggies.  Then placed on the radiator in our kitchen.  

Daily he checked on them.  Daily he made sure the paper towel remained wet.  Daily he looked for signs they were growing. 

Then one day he noticed that the pits were cracking in half.  Then he started to see roots growing.  The roots all grew differently and at different speeds.  One even had to make the journey more difficult by wrapping itself around the center of the pit before exiting the other end of the pit. 

They stayed like this for a bit.  The roots growing …. 

Then one day we started to see little green stocks.  The first one poked through, then the second, and finally the third.  The forth and fifth… stayed quiet.   Shawn still cared for the two avocado pits.  The roots looked healthy. 

He moved things around, so the three pits with stocks could grow big and tall while those that hadn’t shown stocks could still nurture themselves.   The three avocado pits, grew and grew. 

Suddenly, there were signs that the other two pits were about to blossom too!   One faster than the other but they did.  

The lesson

Today, as I sat eating my lunch looking at these 5 avocado pits I realized that even in nature we all grow differently.   We all grow at our own pace.  We are all on our own journey.  Even journeys that involve round about ways to get to our destination.  

If the avocado pits can have the same nurturing experience and still grow differently, then how can we expect anything different in our own lives?  No one will live my life.  It is totally unique to me.  Even my brother who was born to the same parents, did not have the same life as I.  My journey is unique to me.  How I get there and the pace I get there is as unique to me as it was for the 5 avocado pits.  

I have no idea what the future will be for each of those pits.  All I know is that my husband will continue to nurture them the best he can, learning as he goes and allowing each of them to grow in their own way. 

The avocado pits remind me that we all grow differently.  We are all on our own journeys.  I’ll just concentrate on living my life the best I can. 

“Give yourself the time you need to grow, to evolve, to become everything you are meant to be.”

J. E. Cano