Weeds, a Comment

Since by definition a weed is an unwanted plant, if you accept every plant that shows its pretty little head, your yard will be without weed.  If this is your method of weed removal, though, your neighbors may stop speaking to you, or worse.  Here in the States, the well manicured yard is a social custom.  Symbolic of taming the wilderness, the domesticating of nature and the disciplining of the natural urges, taking care of the yard is something of a religious duty.  The religion of grass tells us what is right and proper for our yard in the same way that Christianity tells us what is right and proper for our soul.  There is a price to pay for heresy.

To open yourself fully to the possibilities of life, you need to welcome all experience.  “Do not like, do not dislike, all will then be clear,” states a Zen poem.  To not like, to not dislike is to have no weeds, no sins.   In the community that distinguishes grass and weeds and good and bad, it is to be a dangerous neighbor.  One either needs to move from this community out to the wilds or don the camouflage of compromise.   And why not?  To dislike compromise or conformity is to make a weed of it.  

Sorry, dandelion!

(At another level, there are those who want to label certain groups of people as society's weeds.  Here the stakes are higher and we may need to stand up to our neighbor if this is his or her attitude.)