It’s full-on Spring in Tallahassee and that means the star jasmine in our backyard is on the run! I love watching this climbing vine take off as soon as the weather warms up. The plants are rooted in the ground under a large grapefruit tree, and as sun-seekers, they are motivated to find a way up and out of the shade so they can bask and grow in unobstructed sunshine.

Climbing vines are pretty amazing; it’s as if they have minds of their own and can calculate exactly where they need to go to find what they need. Although I often find my jasmine vines in less-than-optimal situations (strangling the branches of a neighboring camelia bush or threatening the survival of a baby grapefruit), with a little redirection toward a less destructive route, those nimble vines can course correct and travel to a new location where they can bloom audaciously in the sun.

I did a little research on climbing vines and learned that the traveling plant drama unfolding beneath my grapefruit tree is called plant tropism – defined by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences as “the general phenomenon of directed growth and deformation in response to stimuli”.

And there are different types of plant tropism:

• Phototropism: Plants growing towards a light source.
• Gravitropism: Roots growing downwards and stems growing upwards in response to gravity.
• Thigmotropism: Plants coiling around objects they touch.
• Hydrotropism: Plants growing towards water sources.

Who knew?

I’m guessing my jasmine vines are unapologetically phototrophic. They know they need sun to thrive, and they will use any available vertical structure to get to it. But without something to support their upward efforts, they are stuck on the ground.

Is there such a thing as “People Tropism”?

My brother and sister-in-law traveled to Tallahassee today to bring their daughter Nina back home to South Florida. Nina was able to complete her semester at Florida State University (FSU) early, thanks to compassionate accommodations to students made by FSU leadership after the horrific mass shooting that took place on campus less than two weeks ago.

As I helped them pack (stuff) the contents of Nina’s dorm room into their car, I thought about the careful trellis my brother and sister-in-law constructed over the years to support Nina’s growth and development. She is blessed with a loving family and has had countless opportunities to try new things, test her skills and excel in school, work, athletics, the arts and social development. Her life circumstances provided the support she needed to grow, stretch and pursue her goals.

Nina was in the Student Union building where the fatal mass shooting took place at FSU. She was not hurt physically, but she and her fellow students were profoundly shaken emotionally. The entire university community is still early in the process of recovery and healing. So much was lost.

A violent summer storm can come through unexpectedly and rip away the trellis supporting a vine’s healthy growth. But trellises can be rebuilt or replaced – and if the vine’s root system is still healthy, it can grow back even stronger.

People can rebuild after a tragedy, but a person’s trellis of support should be restored carefully and thoughtfully so that hope and optimism can continue to thrive alongside a rational understanding that bad things can – and will – happen in this life.

Just as plants inhabit an ecosystem where disease, drought and natural predators exact a costly toll every day, we humans inhabit an imperfect world where the actions of other people, illness and natural disasters can threaten our well-being at any moment.

But unlike plants, humans are gardeners. We can help rebuild the trellis of support someone else may have lost so they can grow upward, not downward after a loss. We can help a grieving person reclaim their hope and optimism and not become cynical.

Kindness, grace, patience and encouragement can be a potent fertilizer for a wilted soul. Apply them liberally!

“Hardships often  prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” – C.S. Lewis