It Starts With a Seed

 "You're like the seed from which a plant grows:  Almost everything you need to be fully who you are is already inside of you---waiting for the things that nurture you, the things that bring you to life." 

--Magnolia Journal summer 2022

I am not one to grow things from seeds, but when my chives (above) did not come back in the planter on my deck this year, and it was too late in the season to find another at the nursery, I remembered I had a dried flower head sitting in a vase on my kitchen windowsill.  So I dropped the seeds from the dried flower head into the soil in the planter.  I am very happy to report that I have a whole bunch of tiny chive plants emerging!  I've been keeping an eye on them and faithfully keeping the soil moist in this brutal heat (100 heat index today!).

The Magnolia Journal summer issue is on the topic FLOURISH.  August is a good month to read articles about flourishing as I languish under extreme heat, not wanting to leave the air conditioning.   But yesterday I did.  And I'm glad I did because I got together with my ALL my Take Joy Society friends for the first time in eight months.  You can read about our outing in Shepherdstown HERE.  Getting out yesterday with my friends and then writing about it on my blog has really been nurturing for me.  I've been feeling like a wilted plant, not only because of the extreme heat, but because I've lost interest in so many things that used to bring me joy.  

Have you ever had that problem?

I look back over my life and all the things I used to be involved with, things that caught my interest enough to try to learn the skill or spend time doing.  Even before the pandemic I was beginning to lose interest in many of the things I enjoyed doing.  The Magnolia Journal article helped clarify what I need to do about it:

You will need nurture....To be put in places that make you come alive....To be given space to sort it all out, tools to learn and grow and be...Then time to wait and watch as what you've always been becomes the fullness of who you were made to be.

So, it starts with a seed.  It could be an idea that pops in your head, or you read or watch something that gets your attention.  Or something someone says to you, like yesterday when Chris introduced me as a Writer to her Shepherdstown friends.  Me?  Yes, I write, but am I a Writer (capital W!)?   Well, why not?  Hence, this word-filled post, rather than my usual photo-filled post.

So, I'd like to ask you, has some seed been planted in your life that with nurturing grew into something meaningful to you?  Or, are your seeds still inside on the proverbial kitchen windowsill waiting to be sown and nurtured?

P. S.  I just noticed I used the word "So" to begin the last two paragraphs.  Normally I would correct this repetition.  But this time I think it's my inner knowing is trying to get my attention----telling me I need to SOW my seeds!  Now I just need to remember where I stashed them!