Posted on March 4, 2020 by dragonspitapothecary
My mailbox has been flooded with catalogs and mailings about seeds, plants, bulbs and other things for my flower beds. Inside there are pages of fresh big vegetables, fruits and flowers that any gardener would love to see produced in their yard. The catalogs make it all look so easy and the enticing sales give us the encouragement to think we too can grow such wonderful produce and blooms in our own back yard.
Inside our home right now are trays with seeds starting to emerge. Tomatoes primarily but also some peppers. I have a small pile of seed packs waiting to be pushed into the warming soil outside where they too will hopefully emerge with small shoots that will turn into the flower or vegetable on the cover. Some years I’ve had wonderful luck with seeds and others well let’s just say I end up at the home garden center buying someone else’s plants. I don’t claim to be an expert gardener but early spring each year I start with this wonderful idea that I can do it well.
Our lives are much like the garden seeds being planted right now. Often when we have a new idea or long held dream we shield it protectively indoors, keeping it warm and lightly misted. We take small actions and watch it daily to see if things are starting to emerge and if our labor will be successful. As our ideas grow more solid and emerge into strategies and plans we still watch it carefully to make sure it will be strong and capable of turning into reality. At just the right time we take it outside for all to see and give larger, deeper soil to grow in. We water and work on it daily but life starts to help us more in supporting it’s growth and expansion. One day our dreams turn into beautiful blooms we stand back in amazement of. We did that. We grew that. We labored, nurtured, cared and toiled over it for hours and now it is exactly what we wanted.
I think as adults we don’t allow ourselves the luxury of acting on our dreams and ideas as much as we should. We always say we are too busy or it’s too expensive. We lack the energy and time to do it. There is always something else that needs to be done instead. However, in this season of early spring when things are just right for planting new seeds and nurturing them safely indoors, I encourage you to do the same in your life. What dreams have you wanted to grow? What would your life look like if you acted on them? Give yourself permission to reopen that box of dreams and sort through to find the ones that speak to your heart. Plant them in protected areas and give them a chance to sprout.
Three years ago I acted on this dream of having my own small business. I wanted my own business so I could work independently pouring out my ideas and sharing my thoughts without subjectivity of a boss telling me no. Here I am now with a small business and still working full time. That dream is still growing and expanding but I acted on it. I took that chance to plant those seeds and have watched it emerge, sprout and continue to grow. While still small and not a full reality yet there is budding hope and it fuels my excitement each day to watch it change and grow. This was my dream that I one day allowed myself to plant to see what happened. It isn’t always a pretty plant but it’s still very much growing and I continue to water and nurture to see what it can be.
Opening ourselves up to the possibilities isn’t always comfortable. We are afraid of the ridicule, scrutiny, judgement of others. We are afraid of failing. Our own desire for security and comfort overrides our desire for risk and uncertainty. Yet so many of us are dissatisfied, unfulfilled, discontent and even angry about our lives. We are filled with disappointment, pain and loneliness that is leaving us feeling depleted at the end of each day. Our lives have become compared to hamster wheels and stationary situations. I encourage you to break free from those constraints and find those small seedlings of hope that you can plant somewhere in your life. You don’t even have to tell anyone about it until it is well underway in growing.
By allowing ourselves the opening of a dream and action of planting it into action we are beginning to break, slow down and change from living on a hamster wheel to living freely and on our terms. That may not be a small business for you but maybe it’s an artistic outlet, a book your write, a new trade you learn, a new job you really want, more times with your children just playing or simply more control of your days. We have the opportunity in life to make it what we want most, to create it in the way of our dreams. All it takes is us planting the seed.
Where will it take you?
Are you ready to live more naturally on your terms? Explore what that can mean here: dragonspitapothecary.com/grow
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