The Need for Weeds

Would you be upset with me if I referred to some people as being “weeds”?

Before you judge me too harshly, remember … we all need weeds, every bit as much as we need trees, flowers, or grass. In fact, though they are often disdained as something “bad”, weeds do a great deal of good in Nature. They are every bit as important as the prettiest flower you ever laid eyes on for keeping the ecosystem healthy. So, please read on.

We all do well to remember that humanity’s “weeds”, those underappreciated beings among us, do some amazing things … things that benefit us all. 

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(In Nature, weeds grow where other plants cannot. They are tough beyond tough. They somehow seem to keep going and therefore, they keep life going. They even help prevent “soil erosion” and pave new pathways for other plants.)

Homeless people I meet never cease to amaze me with their determination and their grit; their sheer will to survive. They flourish in places where others who tend to think of themselves as stronger might very well wither away and die.

When we love them for who they are, the homeless make all the rest of us better people than we would be, did we not have them among us. Indeed, they are us, but for fate. Blessed live those who realize this fact. We can all become better, more caring, more compassionate human beings, because of these “weeds”. They help prevent “soul erosion” among the rest of us.

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(In Nature, weeds fix nutritional imbalances within the soil, vastly improving the soil for all.)

Incarcerated people can help us realize the great injustices of life, often created by society, and how we can remedy them. These “weeds” can serve to better enrich the soil for everyone else, if we only care enough to look a bit deeper to discover what good their struggles may bring to the world.

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(In Nature, weeds provide homes and food for countless insects and small animals … and trillions of microbes ... microbes that are absolutely necessary to sustain all life here on Earth, including humans.)