Today I was weeding in our vegetable garden.

We use a method called hugelkultur, which in our variation, consists of gardening in raised beds that have been filled with branches, mulch, compost, and dirt, in layers. Every once in a while, something unwanted sprouts, whether from seeds that have drifted in, or come in with the compost. Or… from one of the branches that form the base of the bed.

The plants that come from seeds are easily pulled up. They’re doing their best, but their roots are in loose soil and humus. The sprouts from the branches, though, are tough! They go deep and are connected to their ‘mother’ plant. They are not willing to be detached. I usually have to dig right down to the original branch and prune the shoot away.

That’s the kind of determination and feistiness I want for my endeavors. If the goal or value my efforts are sprouting from are big enough, no simple disturbance is going to take me down. It will require a concenerted effort from fate.

And let’s face it. Fate usually doesn’t have the time.