039 Open Again
Hey Touch-me-not, one touch and you fold up in an instant. Yet within minutes you open your leaves again to the sun.
How soon do we open again after a hurt?
How soon do you open up again after you are hurt?
In a garden, a small plant with feathery leaves is spread open in the sun. A child brushes it with one finger.
Instantly, the leaves fold shut and droop.
What really happens
The touch-me-not folds its leaves within seconds of being touched. Scientists think this may help protect it from animals that would eat it.
But it does not stay shut. Within minutes, the leaves slowly open again to the sun. A closed leaf cannot feed the plant.
How we know: Leaf folding in Mimosa pudica is a classic example in plant biology textbooks.
The turn
When we are hurt, we close up. That is natural, and sometimes it protects us.
The danger is staying closed. A closed heart, like a closed leaf, cannot take in the light.
Three takeaways
- Closing up after a hurt is natural.
- Staying closed has a cost.
- Open again, a little at a time.
Fold when touched. Open to the sun.
And the day came when the risk to remain closed in a bud became more painful than the risk it took to blossom.