What Are You Digging Up?

 This week I planted seeds for my vegetable garden and I’m so excited. I know it is way too soon for me to see evidence of them growing, but whenever I walk past my seed tray I still peek in to see if anything is sprouting up. I’ve never grown vegetables before so I think that is part of my curiosity and excitement, but it made me think about something a Taoist teacher taught me many years ago.

There is a natural rhythm and flow to the cycles of life that human beings can’t rush or manipulate (although we try). But how often do we plant the seed of some desire we have, like losing weight, improving our relationship or getting a different job, and then we start checking every day to see if we've lost a pound, if our spouse or partner is changing, or if someone has responded to our email? That’s like planting a seed in the soil and then reaching down in the dirt and digging it up so we can measure its progress!  Every time I peered down at the soil of my seed tray this week, I wondered how much we do this in life!

I think the fear and uncertainty in our world today is making us doubt our ability to plant seeds for our future because we aren’t sure if the right environment will exist in order for them to grow.  But the cycles of life are eternal and if we are willing to live in harmony with nature and the natural order, we will discover the type of environment we need to create. We just have to remember that whether we plant seeds of compassion, kindness or hope for a better world, we can’t allow our fear and anxiety to stop and dig them up!

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