Trust the Growth Process

My partner & I have a chain-link fence at the back of our property. And for the last 4 years we have patiently watched vines grow up and around it. It took time and care, trimming when & where needed so it didn’t get too thick or heavy in any one part; intertwining it through the links in the fence to guide the direction of new growth. These vines offer us privacy from neighbours behind, and a beautiful living wall marking the barrier of our yard.

Last fall I wasn’t entirely happy with the some of the growth. It had reached the tree branches above and was weighing heavy on them. The thickness in some areas seemed to be testing the stability of the fence as well. So my Dad & I gave it a very thorough thinning, hacking off big sections (especially those connected to the trees above); and waited for the detached, dead branches to present themselves.

My partner wasn’t totally pleased.

He was concerned we had taken off too much; that we had undone all the time, effort & growth of the past few years; and that it wouldn’t fully grow back the following spring.

I have to admit, part of me was worried about the same thing. If only because then I would have to tell him he was right 😉

And yet I also heard this whisper in the back of my mind saying: Trust the growth process!

With all that I have experienced, learned about in school, and witnessed with my clients –
Growth will happen even when we don’t notice it. Naturally, all on its own without any assistance, the growth process will continue. Sometimes quickly and clearly. Sometimes slowly or incrementally. Sometimes forced by circumstances around us that are out of our control.

And sometimes we must make big changes – remove old growth, detach pieces that are starting to wither, and even cut off some of the new growth – in order for bigger or better things to sprout up in its place.

Trust the growth process!

This spring I went back over the vines with a more discerning eye – removing the dead branches left from the fall’s trimming; cutting some of the new growth that was headed in a direction I didn’t like and manipulating other new vines, guiding them towards the empty spaces that remained.

It’s true, there were some holes in our living wall this spring. Holes that left us vulnerable to neighbours prying eyes… for a short time. The beauty of the greenery interrupted by black chain-links… for a time.

But as new growth does – the vine also blossomed with fresh energy, and those empty spaces were quickly filled. The trees above had lighter space to bloom; and the fence can carry the weight of this year’s new growth.

Sometimes we have to make big changes – remove old growth, detach pieces that are starting to wither, and even cut off some of the new growth – in order for bigger or better things to sprout up in its place.

What big changes are you contemplating? What are the holes you are afraid these changes might leave? What are the exciting new things that might sprout up in those created spaces?

And can you trust the growth process?
~ Beth Ann

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