A Place for Seeds

Chaos is a field

In which every kind of seed is sown.

From this field of consciousness

Grows all manifestations of order.

                        C. Patrick Woliver

May is planting season in central Ohio and Rett and I have started to plant seeds. Actually, Rett began planting some seeds indoors, under the “grow light” back in February, and presently our upstairs is full of various 6-inch tomato plants ready to put in the garden once the dirt becomes dry and warm enough to sustain the plants.

A “successful” garden takes planning, organization, and a lot of time and work.  Sometimes it seems as if there is a battle going on between the gardener and Mother Nature.  Ordered rows of selected plants “compete” against the endless onslaught of Nature’s weeds (one definition of weed is: a plant that is growing in an unwanted place).   If one walks into a patch of woods, one discovers all types of plants randomly spread throughout in what seems to be a chaotic display.  

On the contrary, we gardeners attempt to bring order to our arrangement of plants either for easy harvest or for a specific display.

Isn’t one’s life like the attempt to grow a garden?  How much order can one carve out of chaos?  When does one “give over”?

ARCHIBALD:

A bit of earth

She wants a little bit of earth

She'll plant some seeds

The seeds will grow

The flowers bloom

But is their bounty

What she needs?

How can she chance

To love a little bit of earth?

Does she not know?

The earth is old

And doesn't care if

One small girl wants things to grow

A bit of earth

She wants a little bit of earth

She'll plant some seeds

The seeds will grow

The flowers bloom

Their beauty just the thing she needs

She'll grow to love the tender roses

Lilies fair, the iris tall

And then in fall, her bit of earth

Will freeze and kill them all!

            -lyrics by Marsha Norman from The Secret Garden

"The Buddhist tradition [uses] seeds to convey teachings. The first line of the Dhammapada states, “Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think.” The idea is that thoughts are the seeds that give rise to actions, habits, and character. The seeds of unskillful or harmful behaviors lie in the mind. With awareness and practice, we can begin to dig up undesirable seeds (jealousy, anger, ignorance), and can even begin to plant new seeds for a happier future (by practicing the six paramita: generosity, ethics, patience, joyful effort, meditation, and wisdom).

Over time, with effort, your Buddha nature (enlightened consciousness) expresses itself more and more fully. This aspect of interior knowing (which goes by many names- Christ consciousness, Messiah, Atman, etc.) is lying there in wait, like a seed in the ground. Spiritual practice helps that seed to emerge and blossom."

from: http://www.chooseyourmetaphor.com/wiki-metaphor-seed/

Let’s go and grow.

CPW