Weeding

Recently, I was busy on my father's farm. While I worked, I got an insight I felt I should share with you — my friends. 

A weed is any plant growing in cultivated ground to the injury of a crop or desired vegetation, or to the disfigurement of the place; an unsightly, useless, or injurious plant. A weed is simply an unwanted plant in an unwanted place. 

Weeding is the act of removing unwanted vegetation from a cultivated area. 

Like I said earlier on, I recently had to weed ridges of corn and yams. While I carried out the activity, my mind was engaged in deep thoughts which gave birth to this piece. 

Our lives are like cultivated areas where we plant different persons and things in a bid for us to have a desirable harvest of a fulfilled life accompanied with many good things.

However, as was the case on my father's farm, weeds find their way into our lives. This is mostly as a result of the environment in which we find ourselves. Weeds are mostly peculiar to an environment (geography), or the type of crop planted on a particular field. As such, there will be weeds in our lives as a result of our workplace, our way of life, etc. 

Over time, different persons and habits show up as weeds in our lives. They are weeds in that they are injurious to us, to the good in our lives. They threaten our continued survival and growth. They kill us little by little. Weeds, if left for a long time are capable of choking the planted crop. The weeds in our lives are capable of snuffing life out of us. 

For the crops on a field to yield bountifully, regular weeding must be done on the field. Similarly, for us to live our lives to the maximum, we have to constantly carry out "weeding". From time to time, we have to get rid of habits and persons that are injurious to us and inimical to our growth.

However, there are different types of weeds. I will dwell on three weeds I encountered on my father's farm. Imperata cylindrica, commonly known as spear grass, is a deep-rooted weed that must be uprooted fully. Or else, it will start regrowing the next day. This weed sometimes have a networked root which must be fully unearthed to destroy it. Some of the habits and persons in the field of our lives are like this. They have become buried deep in the field of our lives. It takes a painstaking effort to remove them. 

Commelina diffusa, commonly known as spreading dayflower, is another weed I came across. It's a plant that's easy to uproot but you must shake the soil off its root to kill it. If you don't shake the soil off its root, it starts growing again once rain falls on the field. Some habits and persons in our lives are like this. They seem easy to do away with but the moment an occurrence that facilitates their being occurs, they rouse their head again. This group must be removed with care. They must be uprooted, the soil shaken off them and then put out of reach. That's the only way to get rid of them. 

Now, to the third type of weed. They are the trickiest to handle. I came across them in between the ridges of yam. This weed is Talinum triangulare, commonly known as water leaf. This is an edible plant that can be eaten as vegetable. What I'm saying in essence, is that there are persons and habits that can be of value and still be weeds. In this case, you are faced with a dilemma. You have to choose between removing them or leaving them to live on. Well, I must tell you that I spared some and uprooted some. I left a population I'm certain will not hurt the yams. While coming home, I even fetched enough of them for food. You have to be wary of such weeds because even though they are "wanted" plants, they are in an "unwanted" place. It is only wise to leave them when you are certain they don't portend significant harm or any harm at all. 

Happy Weeding!

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