Not many plants are as detested as the dandelion. Most garden owners want to eradicate it, and all means are allowed. I remember as a child, my parents pretty lawn, where time and time again small yellow heads would appear, no matter how many roots were pulled and how much weed killer was poured on. The struggle was real.
I’m not so against the dandelion though. I rather think there are a few things us humans can learn from it. Here are four things the dandelion does really well, that we can learn from:
- Funny – show me the child, or childish soul, that doesn’t love to blow on the white fluffy ball, and watch all the small seeds sail away on the wind! It is nothing short of ingenious to be so entertaining that people can’t stop themselves from helping you reach your goals. When you want to sell something, whether it’s a physical product or a service, you need to give your customers something of value first. And the dandelion knows how to do that! Something fun to do with your kids, it is totally free of charge, and both children and adults can be amazed by natures wonders while watching the little seeds float away. The dandelion get the seeds distributed, and we get smiles on our faces.
- Pretty – yellow is not my favourite colour. But the day my daughter came home with a huge bouquet of dandelions, that we put om the dining room table, the apartment got a lot brighter and livelier. You can’t be anything but happy, when you see them shine bright like the sun, and you can definitely not ignore them. Can we perhaps get better at just being ourselves, and perhaps not be so afraid of standing out from the crowd?
- Expert – the dandelion has definitely heard the rule that you need to do something 10.000 times before you’re an expert. Like most things in nature, evolution and development has made the dandelion really good at being a dandelion. It has no thoughts of being something other than itself, there are no pretences, and it has no fear of what other thinks of it. It just does its thing without worry.
- Useful – the whole plant can be used, and here are a few things it can be used for: in the kitchen: salad, tea, snaps, juice, chips, honey and as a coffee surrogate. As medicine: for good digestion, against inflammation, cleansing, against arthritis, against rashes, against acne and against high blood pressure. Now, that’s not a bad list!
So perhaps we should give the dandelion a little respect, space and friendliness? Because there is no doubt that the detested little plant has a lot of good qualities, if we just look a little closer.
To read this article in Danish, click here.