More Buds than Flowers !

I found another expression to 'tip of the iceberg' while watching the blossoms in the plants in our garden, 'more buds than flowers'!

The flowers sometime subsume or obliterate the views of the buds. What is visible makes us get carried away by all that is obvious and immediate. 

During my years of association with younger professionals, I remember several instances when what a professional presented through his or her CV, behaviour personally and at work setting, was just few flowers. They had more hidden skills, abilities, insights, original thoughts and creative instincts. 

This consciousness came to me once a resident borough a lovely painting summarised my life in the way an artist views my life. Seeing that painting, I felt moved by the imagination that was portrayed of my past and future. It was then I realised that this resident developed artistic skills during the undergraduate training season.  

Another resident was introduced to me as someone who was not dependable and lazy at work. What turned out during the time of association with the department was that, this resident excelled in clinical work, relationships, research and responding to children and families in a mindful way. 

There were few others who went beyond all my expectations or dreams with regard to diligence at work, bringing their skills of music, organising the activities in the department, relating to others, taking initiatives during difficult times to continue being effective and envisioning new perspectives in child development. 

A professional colleague who was generally quiet and efficient surprised me by the readiness to make child development sequences  in line drawing. That created hand outs for parents which helped parents to appreciate the  sequences of child development visually. 

I was reminded today of these experiences, spread over four decades to believe that 'more buds than flowers' is a phrase which represents  realities of a person. It took a while sometimes to go beyond a bias or memories of the past to believe that a person has more depth and substance than what was evident. 

During my conversations with professionals in the recent years I came across experiences of some, who felt stifled because others working with them or overseeing them did not go beyond what was already known about them. 

The domestic worker whom we know for seven years has skills in masonry, pipe laying, building granite walls, painting, gardening, and wood cutting. When we engaged him, it was for gardening. It is now over a period of time, that we realised his skills and abilities are in a wide range of fields. Some people make self disclosures gradually and contextually. Some others treasure their abilities and keep them hidden for suspicion of not being good enough. 

The message I carried back with me after seeing the blossoms in the garden is, there are 'more buds than flowers' which helps me to stay open while relating to others. 

M.C.Mathew( text and photo)