“I grew up like a neglected weed,—ignorant of liberty, having no experience of it.” – Harriet Tubman, as quoted by Benjamin Drew in his book The Refugee, published in 1856. The quote was read aloud by someone reading an essay in which it was included. As the person read, I found myself drowning out the rest of the reading – my right side of my brain honing in on having grown up as a “neglected weed”. The words resonated and clung, creating an image of the strength of a neglected weed. Frequently I have found myself wrestling from the ground the tall, neglected weeds left to grow because of a lack of caring for the lawn. The less you water the lawn, the less you tend it, the stronger the weeds become. They abound – replicating themselves quickly and effortlessly, as their tiny floating seeds with built in “feathers” help them glide across the yard, into the neighbors yard, and beyond. Left untended, they grow tall, the roots grow deep and the stems grow strong. To me, the image of having grown up as a “neglected weed” provided a different perspective. Neglected living things do not have to grow up weak, malnutritioned, and unnurtured. They can have strong minds, a deep sense of self and a view of things that other, “shorter grasses” don’t get to have.
As my left and right brain wrestled each other to capture the imagery as well as the analysis behind it all I realized these words resonated because they reflected me in a way. Having grown up neglected in many ways, ignorant of so many things, I found that it was being neglected and realizing my ignorance that drove me to want more out of life than what was being offered. I didn’t want to be like those around me, scratching backs so that mine could be scratched and keeping a record of favours done and favours owed. I didn’t want to owe people anything. I also didn’t know what I wanted, nor did I have direction of who I was to be. One can argue then that the “sky was the limit”. However, in the absence of any direction, there is misdirection. The journey back would be long and not without loss. But then, I wasn’t a slave running for my freedom. All realities are relative. But we can find strength in the harsher realities of others, and rise to the challenges of our own life.
As I examined my perspective a bit closer, as well as the remainder of that quote, “ignorant of liberty, having no experience of it.” Isn’t that what Harriet Tubman in fact did – develop a strong mind, a deep sense of self, and with a perspective unlike others? Was it this strong mind where she found her strength to move slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad? Was it this deep sense of self that guided her process and her commitment to her cause? Was it her ignorance of freedom that formed an idea of what freedom should be and thus the fight for it? Is it these challenges in our lives, that once faced, allow us to rise again and again? But rise we must, at least once, to have the strength to do it again.
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