On Moss and Manifestation
Nature has a process and a timeline, and we had better respect it
On Father’s Day I wanted some quiet to process my thoughts and observe the world around me. I found a trail not far from home I had never walked before, and to my delight it had far fewer visitors than the popular one I almost ended up on.
Every few minutes I made a point to stop hiking and simply take in my surroundings. A bird. A lizard. A flower. A root.
And moss. A surprisingly beautiful rootless, stemless, leafless plant.
A timeless one.
It brought to mind an especially memorable story from Jenny Odell’s Saving Time, in which she shares what happened to Robin Wall Kimmerer, “a plant scientist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation”, when she was hired by an obscenely wealthy person to recreate an Appalachian mountain scene far from its native habitat.
She is told that the wall, a backdrop for the golf course, needs to look like it’s been there for years: “The mosses will make it look old, so we need to get it growing.” Kimmerer knows this is impossible: The only mosses that can grow on acidic rocks in full sun without moisture are not the luxuriant green ones the owner imagines. When she tries to articulate this, however, the horticulturalist is unfazed, saying they could install a misting system or even “run a waterfall over the whole thing, if that would help.” Money is not an issue, in other words. “But it was not money that the rocks required, it was time,” Kimmerer writes. “And the ‘time is money’ equation doesn’t work in reverse.”
The time is money equation doesn’t work in reverse.
It can be hard for us to accept that no matter how much money or power we have, there are immutable laws of nature that we can’t overcome.
Aaron Levie, my old boss at Box used to say “there are still laws of physics” that apply to markets.
Manifesting our dreams
We live in a modern age. A digital age. An age that has severed so many of our connections to nature.
In this world, we understand, intuitively and explicitly, that we must act if we wish to see change in the world.
It’s the essence of leadership to believe in our own agency. It’s a law of society that acquiring money and power can enable us to manifest our vision on the world.
Our influence on our physical environment and on other human beings relies on our willingness to exert pressure and control.
Certainly we have some influence even if we don’t try… and when we do?
Our influence can be far greater.
But herein lies the challenge.
How much change can we realistically achieve? How much should we try to, whether or not it’s “realistic”?
Creation and Destruction
A year after her first visit to the estate, Kimmerer returns to consult on the condition of the mosses.
On arrival she learns that they were able to create a moss-covered wall on the golf course - with the use of explosives to break away the moss-covered rocks walls from a nearby glen, and transporting them to the green ⛳️ .
Unsurprisingly, “the stolen mosses are getting sick and turning yellow.”
Mosses take time to grow, and the owner of the estate couldn’t wait. They also require specific conditions to thrive, yet the owner didn’t care. The owner wanted to exert his will, wanted to subjugate the moss, but no amount of money, science, or hope could change the laws of nature.
When we have resources and we’re impatient, we can easily blow things up.
It takes a lot more patience and adaptability to create something that lasts.
Sometimes, the things that last require the least intervention at all. They just need the gift of time.
A moment of reflection
My favorite moment of my hike was pausing on a bench - yes, one with moss. I allowed myself to reflect on the laws of nature and humanity, and how we’re constantly in tension between acceptance and ambition.
I want to manifest a better life, a better business, a better world.
I also respect that these things take time… and too much intervention can look like blowing up a rock wall, only to kill the beautiful, ancient moss we were trying to enjoy.
Wishing you peace, and progress,
Joe
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