Before there were human beings on the Earth, there was Moss, which are living fossils in a large genus of three hundred, eighty members, without leaves or flowers. Moss are the oldest plants in the world with the plant’s ancestors living four hundred seventy million years ago.[1] Moss even pre-dates the dinosaurs on Earth, which lived two hundred thirty million years ago. In all the winters since four hundred seventy million years ago, Moss offers hope each year that spring will again return, and again spread its lush green cushion of life on Earth.
When my mother was busy tending her flower, moss and cactus rock gardens outside our red house on the hill across from Lake Nipmuc in Mendon when I was growing up, I was busy tending my woodland Moss rock gardens in the woods next to and behind my house. I noticed there were different kinds of Moss and transplanted them as carefully as I could, so as not to disturb their roots, trying to get as many different varieties I could find. I noticed their roots were shallow, intertwined, and often would climb over rocks. I also noticed various shades of green, and differing heights and kinds of Moss. Some were flatter, fuzzier, or relatively spikier. They all held a lot of water.
When I was a Girl Scout leader taking troops into the Douglas State Forest on cedar swamp parkland trails, we observed Sphagnum Moss,[2] as we walked on raised boards above the woodland bog trail, a natural aquifer to Wallum Lake. I remember telling the scouts that the Native Americans would also use Sphagnum Moss for their babies’ diapers, much to the scout giggles.
Today, this type of Moss is often used at the base of potted plants to retain water for their roots and provides an attractive look to the plants.
There is a life lesson that Moss teaches. Consider the many varieties of Moss, each with its unique colors and styles of growth. The individuality of their variety does not detract from the uniqueness of any other kind of Moss. They are all special, as all human beings are, born perfect, each with individual features and attributes, a good lesson, not just for Girl Scouts, but for all humanity. If Moss can get along with its three hundred, eighty distinctions within its genus for over four hundred seventy million years, humanity can take a lesson in comradery and peaceful coexistence on this one Earth humanity shares.
The metaphysical meanings associated with Moss are good fortune and money. People in the Far East believe that when Moss plants flourish, that the gods are smiling down on them. The abundant lush life of Moss also translates to warding off evil spirits in some cultures.[3]
African cultures revere Moss for its fertility attributes, and new beginnings. The new beginnings of mixed genus of Moss in my childhood Moss Garden were certainly bountiful. This is where I learned first-hand about taking care of these interesting wild plants and understanding at a young age about the interconnectedness of all life, which is vitally important.
As I look back on my life, I see the new beginning of my second twenty-five-year marriage, foreshadowed in my Moss Garden, as well as a major career change, another new beginning.
The roots of Moss are all interwoven, like all of humanity, which makes a huge mistake when we label ourselves into separate categories, as if we were not all one and the same. In my opinion, this is one of the biggest mistakes humanity makes, labeling and separating people by race, color, creed, gender, age, ability, disability, likes, dislikes, et cetera. Each person is so unique, each one of us could have our own unique label, separating us from all the rest of us. This hurts humanity’s advancement into a peaceful and loving species of otherwise intelligent beings each time this happens. The solution is social character development and maturity, not individual labels.
It is not our label, our like-minded group, our language, or any other division of personhood which makes us a valuable, unique, and loved individual. It is time we learn, or life will teach us the hard way until we do learn, that humanity is all together on this one Earth. It is time to stand up, like the Moss lesson teaches, that our common human roots, our intertwined human ancestry, and interracial genealogy unites us more than we currently portray.
It is time to grow up.
[1] 8 Oldest Plants in the World – Oldest.org
[2] Sphagnum Moss: What It Is and How to Use It (thespruce.com)
[3] Moss Spiritual Meaning, Symbolism, and Totem | Complete Guide (spiritanimalsandsymbolism.com)