Wild Seeds Sown

The connection between our environment and our growth.

There’s a beautiful park not far from my home that feels like a distant land. It’s a space I find myself drawn to during the seasons, watching as the native flora move through their cycle - from a stark winter wonderland through a colorful kaleidoscope of wildflowers in summer until they find their way to rest in the late days of autumn.

It’s that time of year, when the seed pods are the key differentiator informing us as to whether we’re looking at the achillea or solidago or rudbeckia. A time of year that doesn’t always get the same recognition as the season before, yet carries immense beauty and perspective.

As I walked here recently, noticing the monochromatic landscape full of character and texture from the seed pods, I looked around this vast landscape and thought to myself how easily these wild seeds are sown.

There’s something to be said about the seeds that we don’t plant. Looking around this wild meadow I notice everything that is there because it self-seeded. The plants that know when to drop their seed and know how to survive in the conditions because that’s where they’re meant to grow. The natural, native and innate understanding of how they’re meant to show up in the world. No one planted these seeds… there was no extra effort for the seeds to grow outside of their natural physiological abilities. They’re simply in an environment where they’re encouraged to grow… where they’re meant to grow.

I couldn’t help but think of what this could look like for our own human lives.

We’re told over and over that we must be the ones to take action on our lives, we need to have focus, we need to set intentions, we have to have goals… and all of this is true.

However, are they actions and goals that encourage our innate abilities to thrive? Or are they based on a more collective approach to what we think we’re supposed to do… what we’re expected to do?

Would we have to try so hard if we gave ourselves a chance to grow and prosper based on who we are? What if we were in environments that supported our unique individualism, instead of trying to fit into environments that forced us to “bloom” and grow differently than how we were meant to?