Spring is in full swing here!
I've started some seeds and each morning I find myself checking on them, looking for signs of change. Some are fully sprouted and have their second set of true leaves, others have yet to emerge.
Gardening from seed is a slow process. Patience is required. But it reminded me of something... How growth often happens in ways we can't yet see.
We plant the seeds, cover them with soil, give them water and sun and then we wait. The sowing of the seed is critical, without it, there's no harvest. But the waiting is of course, where the growth occurs.
Leo Tolstoy wrote that "the two most powerful warriors are patience and time."
Our modern day hustle culture constantly tells us that nothing is happening if we aren't actively "doing". It says work harder, be more, push, strategize, optimize. And there's a place for that, but our spirits do not operate at a boardroom table.
When it comes to personal growth, what if one of the most powerful things we can do is to trust that after we have planted our seeds, what we intend to grow is already in motion?
That doesn't mean no effort is required, that maintenance is not needed. Of course we have to watch for and pull the weeds, whatever might get in the way of that growth. We have to water and nourish what we've planted from time to time with decisions and habits.
But the intention is first, everything else follows. If we sow the seed properly, and at the right time, we have to trust that it will grow. That faith, that belief, is what helps our actions to align to make growth possible.
Wherever you are right now, whether you're planting something new or waiting for it to take root, remember this. Intention is the seed. It begins the cycle of growth. Root it so deeply that your actions have no choice but to align.
Plant those intentions with care.
Water them from time to time.
Pull the weeds.
And trust the process.
XoXo,
MaryAnn