Where does your garden grow?

by Robert M.

Each day we wake up we begin planting seeds. The seeds of action and the seeds of thought. Some mornings the first seed of action might be simply getting out of bed. Until this happens not much of anything else can.

By planting a seed we can expect a harvest at some future date. Different seeds will produce different yields at different times. There are three other factors that will determine the outcome of the crop. How we nurture it (our intent), where we plant it (the environment), and unforeseen or uncontrollable events like the weather.

Let's take for example the seed of the common pumpkin and two people who "planted the seed".

Mary wanted her kids to see the miracle of watching pumpkins grow so she selected a choice spot in her garden where there would be enough space for the expected harvest and regularly tended to the vines as they sprouted making sure weeds were kept clear. When the hot summer days dried up the soil due to lack of rain Mary and her children would water the pumpkin patch. When Halloween approached Mary's harvest was bountiful and she had her kids give the extra pumpkins to other kids in the neighborhood as they had really only wanted one for a jack-o-lantern. To the children's amazement, as they carved up the pumpkin to make a face, they found hundreds of new pumpkin seeds for next year. More than enough for their family and everyone else on the block.

Jack just wanted a pumpkin. He took some seeds and threw them in the backyard near the fence and let nature take its course. Surprisingly, the seeds did take root and struggled to grow. Jack was not one to look after his commitments. He rarely cut his backyard lawn. While the summer came and went Jack would on rare occasion look at his handiwork and grumble about the soil not being good enough. Did Jack get a harvest? I'll let you be the judge but this is not about pumpkins.

This is really about the law of cause and effect. Sowing and reaping. Giving and receiving. Mary's intentions, whether she was aware of it or not, were spiritual. The harvest reaped by her seeds of action would far outweigh that of Jack's even if by some freak of nature Jack arose to have his backyard full of pumpkins. Mary got back much more than she planted. Mary's children not only got to see a garden wondrously transformed from a patch of brown earth, they received the biggest gift they could ever get. The gift of being able to share with others. Jack probably got little more than a few underdeveloped cucurbita pepo's. Jack's motivation or intent was not on the same plane as Mary's.

Now lets examine the environment where our seeds of action are planted. It's time to move on from the pumpkin patch. Suppose you were in a crowded theatre and suddenly stood up and shouted "FIRE.. FIRE". Wrong action in the wrong environment. That kind of seed sowing will get you free board at the crossbar motel for a while. However in a building that's really burning you would be expected to shout the alarm in the hope of saving lives. The right intention in the right place.

By now you are probably thinking... "what's all this got to do with recovery". I'm going to get to that now.

Beyond the seeds of our actions we will look now at the most important seed of all. The seed of thought. Where you sit right now in your life is your harvest of a lifetime of thoughts. Where you will be in the future will be exactly where your thought seeds of today will lead. I suggest not only do you choose your thoughts wisely but cultivate and enrich the soil of your mind as you plant them. Now lets have a look at how important this is in recovery.

If I have the desire to recover from my addiction, that's a good intention. My thought is well meaning. But what if I am closed minded and not willing to listen or accept new ideas. What if I was like Jack and only came to recovery meetings for a free coffee and grumbled about things not being right. That is not the kind of fertile ground that bears fruit worth picking regardless of the seed. If my well meaning thought is planted in Jack's backyard then I may as well have saved the time I spent thinking about it doing something useful, like watching Seinfeld reruns on TV. We must have the key of willingness and open-mindedness in our mind for that thought to take root, grow, blossom and then produce seeds of its own.

So it is extremely important to have all the ingredient's working in our favor in recovery. The right seeds (thoughts), the right nurturing (intent), and the the soil of open-mindedness (environment). Then we begin to grow in the right direction. In time, our thoughts will bear the fruit we so richly deserve and we will be blessed with the harvest of joyful, contented sobriety. Even when unforeseen or uncontrollable events crop up as weeds to choke our development or spirituality, our perseverance remains steadfast for it is built on a foundation that cannot be shaken or uprooted.

What kinds of thoughts are you planting today?
 

What are the motivations behind those thoughts?
 

Where does your garden grow?

 

Originally published Oct 7th, 2001
By Robert M. for The Recovery-Network
Re-Printed for Recovery Times with permission of Robert M.

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