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“We are stronger than we think. We have emotional, spiritual and even physical resources at our disposal. We may get knocked down, but we don’t have to stay down.” -Steven Goodier
I rescued this ground orchid over the weekend. She was existing on a concrete block in the Home Depot garden section. She begged me to take her home. How, honestly, could I say no? It’s amazing what treasures you can acquire for less than $10.
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“It wasn’t about believing this or that, it wasn’t even about good and evil and right and wrong, it was about finding the strength to bear the discomfort that came with being in the world.” -Mark Haddon
Orchid, aptly, means “lasting impression” in the language of flowers. I went to Home Depot on a floral mission of mercy: my other orchids needed re-potting, badly. Orchid blooms last for weeks instead of days, and they grow even if they are ridiculously ignored, and mine have finished blooming, and sit quietly growing in my bathroom. Most orchids are surface plants, thriving on bark, needing little attention, light or moisture to stay alive. When grouped together, they form their own mini-atmosphere, creating proper humidity levels by working together, quietly. Part of their arresting beauty is due to their strength in adversity. Looking at them, leaves strong and thick, roots weaving through bark and shoots of gorgeous flowers, they seem to offer advice: “It’s not how you start, or where you are, it’s how you persevere, and where you end. Get up. Keep going.”
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“The strongest steel is forged by the fires of hell. It is pounded and struck repeatedly before it’s plunged back into the molten fire. The fire gives it power and flexibility, and the blows give it STRENGTH. Those two thing make the metal pliable and able to withstand every battle it’s called upon to fight.” -Sherrilyn Kenyon, The Dark-Hunters
I thought about them this morning as I read the news, seeing this disgusting story. (Honestly, I’m seriously conflicted about even linking it…it’s a vile and naked exhibition of absolute senseless hatred toward an autistic child.) But then I thought about the intended victim (who, to my knowledge, has no knowledge of the contents of the linked article, thank God), and how like an orchid they are: they don’t grow like everyone else, blooming at predictable intervals in normal soil that’s watered four time a week. Their world is harder. Darker. Scarier. It’s a more difficult place in which to thrive.
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“Who wants to die? Everything struggles to live. Look at that tree growing up there out of that grating. It gets no sun, and water only when it rains. It’s growing out of sour earth. And it’s strong because its hard struggle to live is making it strong. My children will be strong that way.” -Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
But, when given the space, and the grace, and the careful concern they need, these special children bloom and grow in astonishing ways, and create beautiful lasting impressions. For information about autism, and ways you can both be inspired and help people who are living with autism, click on the following links:
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“I’ve noticed in my life that the people who act as my angels are not some strange angelic creatures that seem almost untouchable, but are more real than that. They are people who have tasted sorrow, who have felt pain, and in a way, that makes them capable of being an angel. In their darkest moments they have become strong.” -The Hippie, Snowflake Obsidian
National Autism Association
The Begley Family Responds, via Autism Speaks
Temple Grandin Official Website
Carly Fleischman Official Website
Stephen Wiltshire Official Website
Inspiring People with Autism