Planting a Seed!
©Allen Merritt (2016)
I remember helping my Auntie with her large
vegetable garden out in farm country, U.S.A. during certain summer vacations.
She loved gardening (still does) and had a pretty good sized one. Of course,
tending to this garden would always mean a little care in weeding, watering and
reaping the rewards when it was time to harvest and can the goods. Every year,
it started with tilling the land and planting the seeds, then caring for those
growing plants. Out of these little seeds came fresh corn, squash, pickles,
tomatoes and more. Beyond the garden, I see how these ideas of planting seeds
lend themselves to everyday living.
On my ‘On A Positive Note’ twitter feed I have
started posting occasional messages at the top of the morning to encourage the
best in each day. These little sentences are something new for which to begin
each day and start everyone off with something positive to think about. Here
are a few examples of what I have already posted:
Today is all about
moving forward. Keep on trucking!
Today is all about
taking comfort. Be comfortable.
Today is all about
being of good cheer. Cheerio!
Today is all about
relaxing. Do it!
Today is all about
being endeavor-ous! Keep trying!
These sayings are my little seeds.
As I think on them, I hope they help provide a word
of encouragement.
Now that we are beginning a new year, I want to be
reminded of celebrating each day. In a world getting crazier by the second, it only
makes sense to keep our calm and self-sooth with mini-mantras, if you will.
The Buddhist traditions love and have mastered the
art of mantras and chanting, as have the repetition of prayers in several
Christian faith traditions (i.e. the Lords Prayer, the Nicene Creed, etc.)
I have also learned that one trick to learning
something new is to repeat it up to forty times a day for several days (up to
21 days) and you will ingrain that thought as a daily habit.¹ Of course, I’m
sure that statistics vary on this issue, but it gives us an idea of what it
takes to change a habit or instill a new one.
I guess it is like planting those seeds. In any
case, I look forward to finding something to be happy about each day and my
attempts of posting mini-mantras or blogging about positivity and alternative
ways of looking at things or turning things around are a means of planting a seed(s)
for which push us toward a good and healthy result (or harvest).
What I think is great about achieving a result at
harvest time is that we can enjoy the fruits of our labor and nourish our
bodies. Such positive views also serve to nourish our overall self - mind, body,
soul and spirit just as much as actual food. To keep ourselves in check, in
balance and promote positive well-being, such seeds need planting and
continuous nurturing to enhance our overall well-being. So today I want to
highlight the idea of planting your own seeds to make each day a good day for yourself
and others.
As simple as it may sound, it still takes effort and
concentration to achieve results.
So to continue my mini-mantras, let’s make today all
about planting seeds! Let’s grow something good together. Start small. One step
at a time. One day at a time.
By the way if you haven’t followed our Twitter feed,
please feel free to do so and check in on us as time allows. Don’t forget to
share the good news, as well.
Our Twitter feed is as follows:
Have a great week!
Cheers!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-clear/forming-new-habits_b_5104807.html¹
(Viewed on 1/25/2016)
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