Expectation

 


Expectation is defined as the feeling that good things are going to happen in the future.  Without it, we become depressed by what may lie ahead, and with it we plant seeds for tomorrow with a belief that our efforts will lead to something worthwhile.  Though I have never been accused of being an optimist, I believe that my life is rich with expectation.

We live in a world that is rife with things to be depressed about: the future effects of climate change and biodiversity collapse, the invasion of sovereign nations with no real purpose other than to secure power, and the loss of empathy for the unfortunate to name just a few, but we move ahead with the expectation that we can turn things around for the better.  Without expectation, there would be no need to plant this landscape with native plants. What would be the point? The truth is that I have accomplished a lot over these 4+ years that some might have thought unrealistic.  I expect to accomplish even more in the years ahead as long as I persevere and not lose hope.  Never doubt the possibilities of  the acts of individuals united in a worthy mission.

Each spring, I wait for my own little landscape here in my rental home in Pasco County to fulfill its mission – to create habitat for the wildlife I’ve planted it for.  We plant for the future, not for the present and we do so with great expectation.  Over the years, my sapling trees and shrubs take on more of the characteristics that my landscape needs.  Plants once too young to flower reach enough maturity to do so.  These flowers feed pollinators that were originally absent from my yard and this pollination allows for fruit that will feed birds that also were never present here.

I have never understood a landscape that lies stagnant – one that never changes with the seasons or over the years.  Such landscapes produce no expectation as the seasons change from winter to spring and then from spring through summer and fall.  I also do not understand the need of some to plant mature plants.  I relish the expectation that comes from watching my young ones mature and finally reach the stage where they will flower and set fruit. It's like the difference of starting with a puppy or one that is already trained.  I have always loved the puppy stage.

I would encourage you to purposely add expectation into your daily equation and add life to your landscape at home.  Wait each spring for your native azaleas to burst their buds and flower, watch expectantly for the buds on your fringe tree to finally swell after nearly everything else is done, and settle in to wait for the plums and haws to ripen and be eaten by your songbirds.  Each day in your landscape should bring a new surprise. We enter into them with that expectation.  Plan for those.



 

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