The Wisdom of the Clovers

Have you ever experienced the joy of searching through seemingly endless patches of clovers to find that extraordinary four leaved one? Perhaps as a child? Stumbled across one as an adult? I for one have no shame in admitting that I had recently took to my backyard clover patch in search of some luck for my family, and in doing so came across some quite unexpected enlightenment. But first a very brief history on four leaved clovers.

The four leaved clover’s lucky origins can be traced to Ireland dating back hundreds of years. Back then people thought 4 leaved clovers, when worn in their pockets, protected them from evil spirits, provided magical protection, and warded off bad luck. Children thought four-leaved clovers would allow them to see fairies. The odds of finding a four-leaved clover are roughly 10,000 to 1. No clover plants naturally produce four leaves, so when one forms it is due to a mutation within that particular stem. The term luck of the Irish comes from the fact that clover plants are most abundant in Ireland.

So as I stooped down near the large patch in my back yard I knew I would find some. I have in fact always been extremely lucky in finding four-leaved clovers. As a small child I would find so many that they ended up looking like a large bouquet in my small hand. Fast forward 25 years to a friends yard where I proceeded to find one every time I stopped while walking in his yard. It was as if my body knew to stop before I stepped on it. I was able to present him with four of them that day. Was I always a lucky person? Did finding these clovers help me become more lucky? I guess that would be in the eye of the beholder. I personally don’t feel like a particularly lucky person, but if I were to sit down and think real hard I’m sure I could see all the aspects of my life past that had luck tied to them in some form. So as I sat down today, in the middle of that soft and beautifully green clover patch, I couldn’t help but see the hidden beauty in the meaning of them. Finding that diamond in the rough, the rarity amongst the ordinary, the anomaly in the machine. For clovers can be related to human beings in the way that there are a vast majority of us are three leaved cloves, with rare exceptions of us being four leaved ones. Sometimes in order to find the lucky ones you have to brush aside and look under the 99% of ordinary to find them. In other instances they stand out and above the rest, confident and ready to be found. As you look at all of the clover as a whole, and you really look closely at them, you can see the uniqueness in each and every one. They are all different in size, color and shape just like us, and also just like us they want to be admired for what they are. Respected, loved, and noticed. I’m sure every single one would like to be that magical four leaved one likened to that celebrity we adore or billionaire we wish we were, to be able incite excitement and awe for the human finding it. The truth is we all can strive to be four leaved clovers, to evolve and help one another achieve that dream of the fabled four leaved clover. For then the scales would tip and the three leaved ones would be obsolete, and the four leaved ones would be common. Four leaved would have to mutate into something grander again to capture the attention of a fickle human mind. To again stand out above the rest. This is evolution in the making.

So the next time you see a patch, stop an take a magical look, you just might find a little piece of luck, and be reminded of the wisdom of the clovers.