Seeds Of Change
“Your mind is like a piece of land planted with many different kinds of seeds: seeds of joy, peace, mindfulness, understanding, and love; seeds of craving, anger, fear, hate, and forgetfulness. These wholesome and unwholesome seeds are always there, sleeping in the soil of your mind. The quality of your life depends on the seeds you water. If you plant tomato seeds in your gardens, tomatoes will grow. Just so, if you water a seed of peace in your mind, peace will grow. When the seeds of happiness in you are watered, you will become happy. When the seed of anger in you is watered, you will become angry. The seeds that are watered frequently are those that will grow strong.”
~Thich Nhat Hanh
Happy Spring, Dear Ones!
These beautiful words from Thich Nhat Hanh provide a fabulous reminder and intention as we shift seasons. What seeds are you planting or watering in your life right now?
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the growth process and how we have come to the current moment. As it is International Women’s Month, I have been thinking about the progress made in terms of women’s rights in the past century. I got to thinking about the seeds planted by people I don’t know and how I am reaping the reward for their work. I am grateful to live in a world where women now have the rights we do, and I also acknowledge that a lot of work is still to be done.
It is interesting to think about the seeds that we plant in our lives, others, and the world that we may never see bloom and grow.
To create change, we have to start somewhere. We will naturally evolve as we learn through experimenting and having an open mind. We are learning so much right now. Sometimes it hurts to grow (they’re called growing pains for a reason!), and that discomfort can be our greatest motivator for change.
We may not see the end result of the seeds we plant, and maybe we aren’t meant to. We can only feel blindly for the next step, the next right thing we’re meant to do, and that next right thing plants the seed for what evolves into something more beautiful and grand than we could imagine.
I am watering the seeds of peace, love, and joy in my life. And I’m thinking about what kind of seeds I want to plant for my niece and nephews, the next generation of humans that can hopefully reap the reward of the things we learn and the steps we take.
This newsletter is my little seed of love to you, dear reader. I hope it feels like a nourishing ray of sunshine. As always, thank you for being here with me and allowing me to be a part of your journey to becoming your best self. I’m here for you, and I see you.
With love and kindness,
Jessica
P.S. The fun thing I have been doing to care for myself over the past couple of weeks is experimenting with a new habit tracker notebook. (In case you don’t know this about me, I am obsessed with notebooks, really, with all office supplies in general). I have been tracking my mood, level of motivation, and physical activity to notice patterns for a monthly cycle. I’m still getting started, but I’m noticing a decent shift in my awareness already, which is fun!
