Sometimes meaning arrives slowly, long after creation

Today, I combined two unrelated sentence fragments while experimenting with a new book structure. To my surprise, I had accidentally created a quote that invited deeper philosophical exploration.

I like to create a bit of something everyday. I saw this structure in a demo by a book artist. My rotating book has tuck pockets and hidden spaces. Its cover, wrapped in patterned paper of trees and greenery, asked for something more. I confess I’m a” paperholic.” I pulled out a scrap with a random part quote. It said, “To be of the earth is to know…”  It gave some resolution about seeds, growth, and life cycle. I was not impressed, but the part sentence held much promise.

For the last page, I drew a tree and put a sticker next to it, that simply reads, “life takes time.” It was from a task reminder prompt, totally unrelated to the quote. Yet, it had possibilities.. So, I added three dots before the sentence to join it to the initial quote segment. 

To be of the earth is to know…life takes time.

On the face of it, the sentence sounded right. so I left it alone, focusing more on the book.

With the structure complete, I felt something seemingly subtle, persistent, and perhaps contemplative. I knew then that I had to return to the quote. Could there be something more in this innocuous conjoining?

Nature doesn’t rush. Trees begin as seeds, growing slowly over time. Rivers carve canyons through stone across millennia. Seasons unfold with steady patience. Yet humans so often forget this, caught in the rush of our days and wasteful ways. We forget destruction isn’t just about what’s lost physically, but time we can never reclaim.

Are we now rapidly becoming the cause of imminent destruction while simultaneously searching for a peaceful panacea? We teeter between diplomacy and aggression. Perhaps we should listen to nature instead of ourselves. 

It’s this disconnect from nature’s pace that leaves us restless, always reaching, always rushing. But there is another way. To be of the earth means tuning into that quiet rhythm. Releasing the need for instant results and allowing life to unfold on its own terms can be life-affirming . To be of the earth is knowing there are no exclusive memberships.

Was there something subliminal or was it just a happy accident when I put together two disparate sentences?  This created one single truth in a single quote of my making. I may never understand how life often surprises me, but I do know it can be such an unexpected delight.

“To be of the earth is to know life takes time.”