Bend History

“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

― Robert F. Kennedy

Today I watched an amazing video from Prince Ea about changing the world we live in and the quote from Robert F. Kennedy moved me and inspired me to blog about this very thing.  Why did this move me?  What does this have to do with landscaping?  As I go about my life daily there are certain things that stick out to me.  As long as I can remember I have a unique memory that compiles certain events, words, pictures, etc. into categories or topics and at some point it hits me that the topic or category is reappearing or surfacing often in my life.  The very words, "each of us can work to change a small portion of events,"  comes to mind.

The Robert F. Kennedy quote moved me because I feel very strongly about the small things that grow from the tiniest seed into massive trees that completely change our whole landscape.  My entire life I have been touched, amazed and captivated by nature and the earth's smallest inhabitants.  I guess being small in physical form helped...  As I grew up I found myself always in touch and involved with this very subject.  In school it interested me the most, in my free time I found myself there and at night I would dream about it.

I collected rocks as if they were currency, planted every seed to see what it would grow into, changed the course of streams to understand flowing water and ultimately chose to study it for my higher education.  It was to no surprise of those that know me that my career and lively hood is all about nature and its inhabitants.

So to the point, I know and understand that it is my path in life to not only build landscapes but to use what I know, what I have learned, what I have experienced and use that as a vehicle to plant those little seeds for others so that they too can change their landscapes.  Those that have met me from family, to friends, to employees, and even clients will tell you that I always drop facts, knowledge and many cool ideas about nature and the things that don't have an avenue to speak up.  Those small ripples are passed along so we can not only look around, but stop and see how incredible something at 1 millimeter in size is.  Words from  Ed Beaulieu "The Scientist" from Nat Geo Wild's Pond Stars taught me something very important about ecosystems, not just about in nature but our lives in general. Our world is one giant web and each and every little piece has its purpose.  Without that one piece all others may fail.  Don't forget and neglect that little thing, that small ripple, or that tiny seed because it can tear your world down or it could bring you to your paradise.

Poseidon Pond Mann
Cory Mann  

*The picture of Robert F. Kennedy with his children was chosen on purpose.  Each and every moment I spend with my children, or my nieces and nephews I show them and teach them all about the cool little things that are right in front of us.  Nothing makes me happier than watching my daughters eyes get big when we discover something new together.  What I teach them, show them and provide for them will improve and guarantee a better future for their children and so on.