The Dung of Life? Or Fertilizer for Growth?

So . . . did you read today’s title and go, “Huh? Seriously?”

It’s not a secret that life doesn’t always go the way we’d like. It’s challenging and often times difficult and heartbreaking. When going through hard times, people sometimes express that life is *** or they feel like ***. You know what words I’m leaving out here.

They use those expressions because the words conjure up images that aren’t pleasant – at all.

Dung is another word for manure, which is not only messy, its fragrance isn’t one you’d want to bottle and dab behind your ears.

Two of my uncles owned dairy farms in Wisconsin. Farmers utilize the manure generated by the cows to fertilize the fields. When that process takes place, the air doesn’t smell very fresh. The aroma is . . . well, you can only imagine if you haven’t been there.

But the corn, wheat, and hay benefit, and stronger crops are produced.

I don’t use dung for my yard plants and flowers, but I am a strong believer in Miracle Grow. It’s amazing the difference it can make in the growth and beauty of the plants. A few photos of flowers in my yard are included here. Those in the window box started out as small, puny plants. But with water, sun, and “fertilizer,” they’ve flourished.

I think my experience in the yard and on the farm, exemplifies life.

Like the benefits the fields receive from disgusting manure, we can also benefit in character, resilience, patience, compassion, perseverance, tolerance, empathy, etc., by walking through and surviving difficulties.

Maybe it’s not always such a bad thing to go through hard times. Struggles can help us grow to be stronger individuals.

You may have heard it said that you can tell the “true” character of a person by how they act during tough times. It’s much easier for people to be happy, confident, and strong during the good times.

So the next time you become frustrated with how your day, week, month, or year is going - try to think of those frustrations as food to help you grow.

Who knows? It just might help. *wink*

Dawn