Words Plant Seeds
One of the most etched memories from my academic career came when I was going through 2nd grade. I had recently transferred schools, was smaller than all those in my class, and my little world. My teacher had a field day with me, from what I put inside my desk to the quality of my handwriting. It was a rough time. She used to holler at me every chance she could get, and God forbid that I got her attention because she would rip me a new one and send me home in tears.
After a science project, which she deemed to be less than her standards based on my imagination and consistent need to be over the top with information. She told me, “Luis, you daydream too much, don’t follow directions, and I will be surprised if you ever graduate.”
Those words unknowingly haunted me. A few months ago, they came out during a counseling session, and to be candid, it was hard to grasp the extent that it had effects on me.
You see, no matter the age and time, your words to yourself and others plant seeds. It is like the biblical story of the sower. Seeds were spread on multiple terrains, and they would have to fend for themselves to survive. The one aspect many folks overlook is that not only useful seeds land in the good soil, but unhealthy ones can land there as well.
Plant a strangling or toxic plant in good soil next to other plants, and it will kill your harvest. Often those toxicities and growths go unnoticed until you do some sifting, testing, and even tilling of the soil.
Until we do that, then no matter how much self-help or self-improvement we do. No matter how many degrees or spiritual journey’s we take, we will still produce less fruit than we could, and we live a lower quality of life than we are able.
I am taking some time to meditate upon this week, and if this resonated with you, then maybe you should as well.
Speak soon,
Luis
