The Seed Replanted

An experience is had. A seed of belief gets planted as a result of this experience.  What does the seed intend to grow into?  Love? Fear? Anger? Compassion? We often have no control over how the seed germinates itself into a pattern or set of patterns of beliefs which course through our DNA and cellular memory and become a part of us.  As long as it takes for a seed to become a part of us, so too, can it take as long to find it, remove it and plant a new seed.  We must always tend the garden of our soul with great care and love.

We stand erect seemingly in our power to meet and embrace the world in which we live.  We survey our experiences and in our conscious mind determine a meaning for each and every one of them from that which we have derived the values we know to be true.  But, are we truly understanding the values of which we derive our meaning from?

For example: a child experiences violence in their home life and determines it to be “normal” because they have no other point of reference of which to derive another meaning.  Deep inside however, the seed is saying this is not normal, it’s brutal, unkind and a violation of safety.  A seed is germinated and grows.  The conscious mind dismisses this and argues to accept the treatment because again, it’s “normal”. An internal conflict is now created and our garden is growing weeds unknowingly. The weeds will spread and take over the garden if we continue to proceed so entirely unaware.

In moments where an incident occurs which has the weed as its’ source, we may have a brief moment of awareness which tells us it exists.  In this moment, we have an opportunity. We may choose to circumvent and ignore the weed, pull it out at the surface (in which it will only regrow) or, seize the opportunity to remove it by the roots and replace with the seed of a rose.

Alas, the seeds which grow into weeds are varied, voluminous, often hidden or disguised and may seem to some, too overwhelming to conquer.  In this place, we may resign and accept the weeded garden as our lot in life. We may give up the dream of the scented rose beds that bring us joy and beauty. Down hearted and outnumbered we succumb.

But, spring and sunshine will always come around again. This period of being in a state of resignation and overwhelm is like winter, it will soon pass and as each season comes upon us we are given new opportunities to replant our garden.  With each new season we can start again with a renewed energy, opportunity and commitment to be more aware of when a weed crops up and tries to destroy the beauty of the rose bed. We learn to see the beginnings of the weed, pull it at the root and fill the soil with rich fertilized substance. 

Soon our garden is filled with beauty, grace, color, scent and the bounty of nature.  Weeds will always attempt to  grow, but with a watchful eye and an intent to tend the garden of our soul with love and diligence, they will not overcome and takeover, but rather have a short lived time without power or circumstance.

Tend your garden well and let only roses thrive.

Originally published in Radiance Magazine May 1, 2018