Consider the lichen of the Alaskan tundra.
It does not hurry –
patiently weaving itself into the fabric of the earth
over centuries.
It thrives in scarcity –
mysteriously binding elements of air and rock
into fertile soil.
It is beautiful –
a fragile network of branching filaments –
an analog of antlers, river tributaries, root systems.
It teaches that growth is not measured by haste,
nor survival by conquest.
To persist –
to take what is given and make of it something quietly enduring – is wisdom enough.
