Let the Seeds of Your Creativity Sprout and Grow
I notice since the pandemic I tend to ponder a lot on gardening and growing things. I guess one reason I take an interest in nature is that we as a nation lived 4 years under the leadership of a government that was in denial of global warming and its effects on us and the environment. It wouldn’t have been so bad but wild fires raged and the number of hurricanes increased so much that it was hard to ignore what was obvious. It seemed as if nature was trying to drown half of the nation and burn the other half. Then the pandemic hit. Half the people believing it was real, the other half believing it was a conspiracy even as people were dying in record numbers across the country. Still the naysayers did not go away. They stayed and continued with their rhetoric and excellent health care at their fingertips while regular folks were left holding a bag of empty promises, or better yet a bag of lies. No matter how you look at it we are a product of nature and upon our demise our bodies will decay and become part of the earth. We didn’t evolve from some magical source outside of nature, and we cannot exist independent of it. There’s a huge, oak tree in front of my house that is on the decline. The change in environment has affected it, along with the neglect of the city that should care for the trees and the insects that have come to feast on its weakness. When the winds are strong enough, limbs fall and crumble as they hit the ground as if the tree was made from a composite of wood chips and sand, not the oak wood signature of its genus. But this tree like everything else that grows around us is the result of one seed that sprouted and grew. “Plant something,” was the advice of Ron Finley, better known as the Gansta Gardener of south LA. He transformed the parkways of South LA. by growing gardens and encouraging the surrounding community to take up gardening to grow food. In the 90’s, I remember lots of urban community gardens in this area. Neighborhoods and individuals took abandoned lots and converted them into community gardens before big money demanded their removal. Plant something and you will see how extraordinary the process is and how rewarding to see a seed grow and become a living, thriving thing. Plant something and make a small effort to experience what contributes to your existence here on planet Earth. If you can’t plant a seed nurture your own creativity. Nurture a new project or revive an old one. Let summer be the start of a new growth cycle. An opportunity to sprout and grow something to full bloom. It will be a rewarding experience. I can guarantee it.
– Toni Thomas
Words That Inspire and The People That Said Them
“Look at the state of the world today. You better be optimistic. You really do have to have faith and belief and understanding in order to survive. And know that you will not be defeated if you really think positive, about yourself and the life you’ve chosen to live.”
“Walk so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears. ”
“If you don’t get loose now, you better forget it, ’cause you ain’t got much time. None of us do. ”
“If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive. Audre Lorde, poet, writer, activist”
“There’s no end to the bounty of Mother Nature.””
