If you have started plants from seeds you know how precarious the transplanting time can be. It is a delicate balance between giving the plants a new bigger system to live and thrive in and death due to shock. Sometimes the little seedlings just are not up to the challenge. Their root system is not developed enough or you accidentally bend the stem or tear a leaf off. This can send the fragile life into shock or deprive it of the ability to feed itself and it slowly, or quickly, will die. Yet, without transplanting these little seedlings their growth becomes stunted and they will never be able to reach their potential.
In my experience, the most successful way to do this is to have lots of time, rushing inevitably will lead to broken stems and ripped leaves. Also to not be hesitant to transplant only the plants that are ready to do so rather than all of one variety for the sake of convenience. Convenience is only part of why one might choose to just barrel ahead and transplant all of a variety. Space, where can you keep all these half-used seedling planters, particularly when vertical space is at a premium. Organization, where do you put these plants, how are you labelling them, will they be all together or spread about and intermixed with every other plant species? Keeping track of how man and what kind can become a bit of an overwhelming task if you are not organized. Energy, it takes a lot of time to carefully consider each individual plant and to suss out if it is ready or not. Then to commit to a later date that would be best for the plant. This timeline is not always what is best for you and your plans. Being able to be flexible for the plants is not always possible. Do you risk the transplant now even though you know it is too soon? There are many resources, including your own knowledge, patience, and current emotional and mental state to be considered when setting time aside to do your transplanting.
Once upon a time, I was an elementary school teacher. I remember having lectures in uni, later PD days where we were told that in each student is huge potential. The right kind of care, attention to detail, support, encouragement, and teaching/assessment strategies would help to unlock each child's potential to be a lover of math, to write a clear introductory paragraph, to show empathy, etc. I agree, completely. It is possible for us to do this, but we need the right conditions, support, and resources to do this.
I want to invite you to consider the following thought experiment: Jesus tells us to "love our neighbour." What kind of love, well the sacrificial love that Christ showed us through his life on earth, his death on the cross, and his missioning of the disciples (we can count ourselves in this group) after his resurrection. To love our neighbour like Christ loved us certainly does not require more time, care, and consideration than we would give a seedling as I laid out above. But maybe that analogy falls flat because most people don't start plants from seeds for exactly this reason; it requires too much. So, I offer this in lieu. We should give more time, care, and consideration to our neighbour (you choose who that is for you), a person made in the image and likeness of God, than we do our vacation plans, our supper, preparations, or what clothes we will wear on a date.
How we show our care and consideration is up to each one of us. It might be done through prayer as we travel to our vacation, chop our veggies for supper, or consider which earings match best with our top. It could be in the time we spend having brief encounters with other people, being patient with the airline rep when our baggage gets lost or our flight is delayed. Donating to organizations our time, talent, and treasure those who strive to make sure everyone has supper today. Or choosing to buy secondhand clothing, consignment, or only from designers who pay workers a fair wage. We are all able to do something. We do not have to solve the world's problems with our one individual action, but we can take steps to make sure that each person is able to have a good life. A life of dignity. A life where they know that they are loved. If we can show care and consideration to a seedling, how much more ought we show these same traits to our neighbours?