Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Black & White Wednesday ~ Seeds


"All of the flowers of all the tomorrows
are in the seeds of today."
Indian Proverb


Several years ago I stumbled across was led to a quote that profoundly altered my perspective on my day to day life. "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." It's a Robert Louis Stevenson quote that {quite literally} caused the ground to shift under my feet - that caused a dramatic paradigm shift in my life. Something in the simplicity of the sentiment set me free from pressures that come when we measure, compare and find satisfaction only in accomplishment. There's so  much a farmer can't control about the harvest. There's so much we can't control about the outcome, about the future. But we can plant seeds. Lots of them. Each and every day!


This spring has been slow to flower here in New England. But we all knew it was coming. Always does...eventually! And as the new buds open, and pollen spreads, and seeds dance across the breeze, we know that the flowers of next spring are coming to life as well!

It can be so hard to hold on to this idea. If we're building a family, or a business...if we're striving to make a big life style change...or if we're trying to mend fences and build bridges....whatever we are striving towards in life, it can be such a struggle to gaze with satisfaction on the planting. So difficult to be consistent with the watering while we wait for growth. For accomplishment. For the harvest.

There's a Bible passage that speaks to this, but that I believe I misinterpreted for years. In Corinthians it says that one man might plant a seed of faith, and others might water it, but it is God that makes it grow. For years I thought that if there wasn't growth in my faith, or certain "results" in my life that either God wasn't blessing me or that I wasn't planting or watering enough. Truth is, I think God really wants us to be free from all of that judgement! To let go of things we can't control, and invest in those things we can. To let go of the harvest and to plant freely. Plant seeds of faith, kindness, discipline or creativity,  take a deep breath and trust that the harvest will come in its own sweet time. A rich, beautiful, worth-the-wait harvest.




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22 comments:

  1. Beautiful images in black and white...and a nice take on a biblical passage that also confused me for so many, many years!

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  2. Good morning and thank you for hosting. I love your thoughts for today and I agree.

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  3. Beautiful thoughts with your images.

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  4. Oh that quote!!! Ran to write it down so I don't forget. Thank you - always an inspiration.

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  5. So so beautiful! That quote is wonderful - need to jot that down!

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  6. So so beautiful! That quote is wonderful - need to jot that down!

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  7. Very enlightening post, quotes and photos ~ thus it would seem you are one Enlightened woman ! happy week to you ~ xoxo ~

    artmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)

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  8. I agree with Carol...very enlightening. Beautiful black and whites too! Thank you for hosting this link up.

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  9. I agree with Carol...very enlightening. Beautiful black and whites too! Thank you for hosting this link up.

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  10. Beautifully put. This is a truth that does shift the ground one is walking on...bringing peace. I need to go look up one of my favorite scriptures on this order. I'm a terrible "memorizer" but paraphrased it tells us to plant in the morning and work all day, because we don't know if what we are doing is bringing good, but it ALL may be! It was ground shifting to me! Now, I really need to go find it again!

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  11. This is really wonderful. I hope I can hold onto this imagery...as plant some seeds :)

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  12. Lovely photos. I remind myself of that a lot, especially when it comes to others. Some times all you can do is plant seeds, and sometimes water them, but you can't make them grow.

    In relationships it takes two to mend fences, build bridges and no matter how much you water or plant on your side, if they don't want to mend, then that relationship is over since you can't force the other side to grow, build, or mend. In that case all you can do is move on, knowing you did your part.

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  13. Did you write this for me? LOL. Yes, and for all of us going through the crisis of faith in the sowing. :)

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  14. Beautiful quote and something I need to be reminded of on certain days :) Your photos are gorgeous illustrations of your beliefs.

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  15. Encouraging quote!(Below) It looks like you enjoyed your Easter:)

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  16. mmmmm....and sometimes the wait is excruciating!

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  17. beautiful!!!

    and love this - the seeds of today…… :)

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  18. well said, and lovely photos of seeds

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  19. winter really held on tight this year. so now that sping is finally starting to show it's colors, we will appreciate it even more!!

    these are gorgeous!!

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  20. A beautiful serie! Love it! B&W is great!

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  21. Wundervolle Makro-Aufnahmen und ein sehr interessanter Text dazu !
    Wenn du magst, besuche meinen neuen S/W-Foto-Blog.
    http://blackandwhiteabstract.blogspot.de/
    Ein schönes Wochenende wünscht dir
    Jutta aus Deutschland

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