It really is amazing how much mindfulness can change your life and bring you so many new perspectives to the world. I have always considered myself a spiritually aware person and in general, in touch with the feelings and emotions in myself and around me. Though I may not always show my emotions freely, I am heavily guided by them, as many of us are. Sometimes being strong and silent is our safety net, not letting anyone know how much they or something means to us is a way to protect ourselves. Much of this is personality and trying to force a change is likely not to yield any results. But while I may never be a heart on my sleeve person, I can still find the meaning in the emotions as they come to me. Mindfulness has given me this and just made me change my perspective on many things.
Since spring I keep ruminating on growth and I have very literal growth that I see now in my garden. I never really thought much about plants, but over quarantine, I started creating a small herb garden. As I grew in confidence I started throwing all sorts of things into the ground to see if they would grow. Green pepper and strawberry seeds, shallots and potatoes. They were often waste products from the fridge so I saw no harm in doing this. And to my surprise, things started growing. I got a small strawberry plant, which took about 7 months from seed to flower but the result really impressed me. From a tiny seed, smaller than a sesame seed, to a full grown plant before my eyes. It got me thinking about how much growth we don't see or take seriously.
Throwing these food remains in pots I did so with little care. Friends thought I was being stupid, and I agreed but I did it anyways. But the key was I followed through. I watered my pots and put them in the sun, moved them to better spots when I saw them reaching towards a sunnier spot on the patio. Slowly, the plants became part of my daily routine. Without much worry or care I did my daily task, that seemed so small, just watering the pot. And the seeds grew. I took photos and sent them to my friends, and they laughed. After a while I stopped taking pictures and stopped really paying attention. The watering was subconscious. Then one day I saw flowers on my strawberry plant. She had made it! I put her outside so bees could pollinate her, and did a little self pollination with a paintbrush, a technique I learned with my tomato plants earlier. And to my shock, the flowers faded and strawberries began to form. The reward was here. I took photos of my few strawberries and my friends laughed and were amazed. It felt like I had just planted the seed. They wanted to try now too, so on and so forth.
But the truth is, it was not overnight and it was not set and forget it either. It was taking a small daily action every day for months. No one really noticed the growth or thought much about it until the day the final product was there. Then everyone, myself included, took notice. What I am getting at is that although the act of practicing mindfulness may feel small or insignificant, it can yield results given the proper dedication to it. Though you may not think you are doing much with daily breathing exercises or drawing yourself back into the moment when you feel yourself slipping under the waves of thought and emotion, you are moving mountains for yourself. It doesn't appear right away, not even in a week. You may feel you aren't doing it right because you don't feel some major change after every session. You may feel like you fail more often than not, getting distracted by work or family or simply running out of time in the day so you aren't able to visit your practice as often as you like. But any progress, even little progress is still progress.
It may not feel like a lot, it may not look like a lot. It may feel like you are just being silly or wasting some time, but if you stick with it the results will come. The little strawberry seed to full strawberry plant yielding fruit is here to remind us that with dedication potential can be achieved. But without dedication, even just minuscule efforts it will fade away. Remember this the next time you feel overwhelmed or like your practice may not be helping you. Remember the quiet perseverance of a seed to plant. I wish for you the same growth and blessings throughout your life. Reach out to us at info@bullionite.com with your comments and questions.