bamboo shoots

i wrote this a while ago, and just found it in my desk. i thought i would post it.

i have a bamboo. it sits on my desk and never moves. on the first week of work most of it dies, but one green branch continues to live. I almost threw it away because the biggest and most beautiful part died off, but then i figured i should encourage its meager, but very green life. i have continued refilling its water, but it does not grow. its tiny leaves look as though they are reaching out for something, and while it may have grown slightly, it is undetectable to my eye.

for some reason i have grown attached to it. maybe as a source of life, or simply as a little green friend (one not from mars). i send out e-mails to my friends and often include the status of my bamboo's life. one of my friends went so far as to say i was obsessed with it. as much as i hate the word "obsessed" (a little too paris hilton for me) it's true. i keep waiting for it to do something, to sprout a new leaf or tell me something i don't already know. i think maybe because i've given it a second chance i've upped the ante a little as far as my expectations go. here's your second chance at life, now make something of it!

i think my life lately is a little like my bamboo. part of my old life has died- a part that i grew vey attached to, and felt very comfortable with. as much as i hate this aspect of life, it is true. the people and objects and places we leave behind seem to really be LEFT behind. people say they live on in our memories and fond thoughts, but there is a sort of death that must happen for new life to occur. i guess the glory of things as they were die as we move on to experience more joy. what's left is often small and frightened, but it yearns for life- to grow into something meaningful and true.

i have the desire- now let's see if i can grow here. if my bamboo has a chance i guess i do too.