Cabbage Heart

See a plump, shiny cabbage in the supermarket and it’s tempting to think it popped into the world whole and perfectly formed. But of course it didn’t. The farmer had to water it and keep the slugs off for months while it slowly grew, or “hearted up”, as they say. It had to be nurtured.

Go in to an art gallery and see all the plump, shiny works of art and it’s tempting to think the artist that made them popped into the world whole and perfectly formed too, ready to pick up a brush or a chisel and just set to work.

But of course they didn’t. Each artist had to grow for years before they could make those paintings and sculptures. They probably loved scribbling and scrunching with their hands since they were little but I bet someone nurtured them somewhere down the line. I bet someone said something like,

“That’s extraordinary! Do another one! Make it bigger and better and even more extraordinary! And don’t listen to anyone who tells you to stop. Just keep going because it’s worth it, what you’re doing, I love it! I love it!”

Because we’re all like cabbages, surely. We all need someone to water us and keep the slugs off to heart up nicely.

Daniel Jamieson