Blog

There was a farmer who took great care and had acres upon acres of corn fields. He had been a farmer for many many years and knew what he had to do to get an exceptional and sweet yield of corn. One day, the farmer went to the seed store and purchased his yearly supply of corn. There were bags upon bags of seeds. As he was leaving, one of the bags had a small tear and a single seed popped out and wound up falling to the floor. The farmer did not even see this single seed left behind and went home to plant his crop.

A person walking by stopped and saw the single seed. He told himself to pick it up and it was too bad the seed wound up there. He said that he will look after it and help it grow. The person took the seed home and carefully looked after it and placed the seed on the window sill so it could be close to the outside. The thought of putting the seed outside and in harms way with the elements did not sit well with the person. What if a crow comes and takes you away, what if a frost hits and you don’t grow, what if it rains heavy and the water carries you away…no, I think you are much safer on this window sill and in the comfort of this home.

For months, the person would check on his seed and to his dismay, it never grew…it just sat there. As the person went for a drive, and has he was driving, he saw a field where there were row upon row of corn as tall as you can imagine. The ears of corn on each stalk were plentiful. The farmer who planted his corn was out starting to harvest so the two men began to talk. The man who picked up the seed asked the farmer what his secret was because he had a single seed and had it on the window sill.

The farmer said there was no real secret. Every year, I prepare the fields, I plant the corn, I look after them as they grow and at a certain point, it is time to harvest. The farmer asked the man why he chose to put the seed on the window sill and the man replied it was because he too cared for the seed and wanted it to grow but felt the elements might not help it. Both people cared but took different paths.

The lesson here…to be overly protective does not help growth. You will always be a seed if you are not willing to venture out. You must put yourself in the elements and react to situations that the world throws to you. You are provided the tools to react. If you let someone protect you and prevent you from being what you are supposed to be, you will not grow. It is important to get dirty and let the environment provide you what you need to do to grow. It also helps to be in the element of others who will be there to support you and help you grow. Find the farmer who will nurture and let you grow over the person who does not want you to venture out for fear of failure. Sure some seeds in the field might not have made it in this story; however, the single seed does not grow for sure. There are many factors and things one must do to grow a seed into an ear of corn because it does not happen overnight. Take the time and patience.

PS – this thought emerged from my conversation with Kal Dosanjh…a seed of an idea to be harvested into a post – thanks Kal!