Planting Season Part 1: Planting Seeds

Spring is in the air! The new year has introduced itself and made itself at home. The days start to get longer and feel more hopeful. Soon we can start to unclench our muscles and unzip the down coat, and watch as new life slowly begins to unfold around us. New buds. New sprouts. New greenery. 

This time of year, seeds find their way into the ground, ready to embrace change and grow with the help of a little water, warmth, and light. 

…

With examples of slow, beautiful growth all around us, I think now is GREAT time for us to plant new things in our own lives. 

Cultivate a new skill. Build a new practice. Start a new project. Take a new step toward the unknown. 

I’ll take this moment to remind you (/me…us)  of the power of starting small: 

How does every mighty tree begin its journey? 
As a tiny seed…

A seed so tiny sometimes that a breeze might blow it right out of your hand. 

If a tiny beginning is good enough for a tree that could grow tall and strong, or produce lots of fruit for years to come, why do we expect so much more from our own beginnings? 

If we have an idea but we can’t see it through “fast enough”  we give it up. 

If the skill doesn’t come easily quickly, we decide it’s not for us. 

If we can’t go big…we go home…as so many have told us those are the only two options. 

But planting a bigger seed doesn’t necessarily produce a bigger tree. And it doesn't grow faster when we demand it to do so. 

What matters more is the conditions for the growth. 

And seeds don’t need much. They don’t need buckets of water and intense heat.

No, they don’t need much care. But they do need consistent care if they want a chance to burst through the soil. 

So I challenge you…to let whatever you are planting start as a tiny seed. 

It sounds counterintuitive to challenge you to do less than you might be inclined. But I find more people than not struggle with this, so that’s why I’m posing it as a challenge.

Prove that you can start small. Discipline yourself to start small…

Start tiny, and check in daily to ensure the conditions remain good for growth.  Give it a little water, warmth, and light each day. And practice patience. 

Once it gets bigger, you can start to increase the water. 

But for now…in this new spring/planting season, plant something small. Comically unassuming even. Just like our friend the seed. Who knows how it might grow.