Anita my maid, made a comment that one of the plants is “Falling off”. She laughed. She was right. The same plant in two different ‘spaces’ was behaving differently. I had an intuitive sense, But I decided to check and experiment anyway.
I am going to call them Circular plant and Falling plant. Both are the same variety. The Circular one, was well, in a circular pot, and growing in all directions. It was the one that kept “moving”, well I kept moving it, in different places in the house. The falling plant, was in a cup, and it had runneth over, the plant not the cup, and hence the falling.
I moved the falling plant to a different location and observed. And sure enough after a few days it was ‘moving’. It was moving in the direction of Light.
There were at least two things I noticed, which I thought were very interesting
- The falling plant, was in a cup. And it had grown too big for the Cup, it needed to move out. It needed a bigger space.
- The plant was moving steadily towards the Light source, the Sun.
This direction on the Axis of and towards light is called Phototaxis.
Definition: Phototaxis is the ability of organisms to move directionally in response to a light source. Many cyanobacteria exhibit phototaxis, both towards and away from a light source.
In the environment, the ability to move into optimal light conditions for photosynthesis, the process of making food for growth, is an advantage.
Not too different from the needs for human beings I think. As I pondered this, and wondered what can we learn from plants about moving toward light.
There are three minimal requirements for Phototaxis:
- First, the organism must have a molecule that detects light.- You must have an internal compass or Light detector to “detect” it.
- The second requirement for phototaxis is motility. Motility is the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy. You must be able and willing to Move towards it. Ofcourse no point having detected light – Not moving towards it.
- The third requirement is the ability to determine the direction of the incoming light, so that the cell can respond by moving in the appropriate direction. Must be directionally oriented towards it. They must be heliotropic. Being able to track light as it moves and moving with it.
All these Three things I found immensely fascinating. Even more so because we are more similar than we know.
The DNA sequence of Human being and plants, is similar enough that scientists can trace them all back to a single ancient gene. Because each of these genes are derived from a single ancestor, they’re all considered members of the same family
Phew !! Finally. The Falling plant was not really falling – it looked like that because it was outgrowing and moving . Not a bad thing at all.
This, no longer “falling plant” , that I am now going to rename as OM. (Outgrowing and Moving) left me with few thoughts. Funny how things turn out.
Self questions to ponder….
- What am I Outgrowing and where must I Move
- How am I moving – toward or away from light?
- How will I know that – perhaps looking at places where I am Falling can give a clue?
- Do I have the ”Light” detector” inside me? If yes what is it?
- Do I have the Motility? The ability and willingness to move. Or is it compromised as a habit in some areas, and I have gotten stuck.
- Am I heliotropic, that is Do I move with the Light, where am I doing it and being able to generate energy, and where am I not able to do that.
- What am I “moving” that is growing – What am I ‘not moving’ that is falling.
Since energy is what we need to exists and grow, and Light is the Source of that energy. Perhaps we need to Pause to reflect on this.
Perhaps if we stopped to learn and see we can see. That we are anyway wired like that, like plants but we have forgotten, that we come from that ancestry. And It’s time to remember to move toward light.
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