The things that grow the fastest don’t always produce the best results.
One thing that playing in my garden has made me aware of is the parallel that can be drawn between all forms of life.
At the beginning of my planting experience I had a crop of kale and a crop of spinach that eagerly rose from the soil before anything else. I thought for sure I’d be harvesting plenty from those two crops. I doted on them, bragged on their successes and… just as my other plants were beginning their growth… I ended up having to dump these early risers in the composter. They went to seed too fast and stayed small.
Today I was at lunch with a close friend of mine and through conversation I was able to see how this notion can too be true of relationships. Often things that seem overly fiery at first erupt prematurely and fade away before they ever reach the level of maturity that make them their very best.
It’s the things that take a little more work at the beginning that have the chance to grow completely nurtured and strong. You take more time to commit to them, you give them a constant stream of nurturing over a longer period of time, you celebrate little moments of growth along the way. They require an investment.
Strong and steady.
It’s these things you get the most from. Just like my little tomato seedlings, eggplant and squash plants that took what seemed like so long to stretch their roots into the soil deep enough to wildly inch toward their tops into the sun.
I feel so proud of the time I’ve put into their growth, much the same as I feel about the friendships and connections that have lasted with me over years and years.
These are the places I share most of my heart. The things I trust enough to grown into. All good things start as seedlings with a 50% chance of taking off - it's really a combination of conditions and what you put into them that most determines how they turn out.
You really do reap what you sow - in every area of your life.
What kinds of possibilities are you nurturing?
One thing that playing in my garden has made me aware of is the parallel that can be drawn between all forms of life.
At the beginning of my planting experience I had a crop of kale and a crop of spinach that eagerly rose from the soil before anything else. I thought for sure I’d be harvesting plenty from those two crops. I doted on them, bragged on their successes and… just as my other plants were beginning their growth… I ended up having to dump these early risers in the composter. They went to seed too fast and stayed small.
Today I was at lunch with a close friend of mine and through conversation I was able to see how this notion can too be true of relationships. Often things that seem overly fiery at first erupt prematurely and fade away before they ever reach the level of maturity that make them their very best.
It’s the things that take a little more work at the beginning that have the chance to grow completely nurtured and strong. You take more time to commit to them, you give them a constant stream of nurturing over a longer period of time, you celebrate little moments of growth along the way. They require an investment.
Strong and steady.
It’s these things you get the most from. Just like my little tomato seedlings, eggplant and squash plants that took what seemed like so long to stretch their roots into the soil deep enough to wildly inch toward their tops into the sun.
I feel so proud of the time I’ve put into their growth, much the same as I feel about the friendships and connections that have lasted with me over years and years.
These are the places I share most of my heart. The things I trust enough to grown into. All good things start as seedlings with a 50% chance of taking off - it's really a combination of conditions and what you put into them that most determines how they turn out.
You really do reap what you sow - in every area of your life.
What kinds of possibilities are you nurturing?
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