A little seed that grows.

Think small. Planting tiny seeds in the small space given you
can change the whole world or, at the very least, your view of it.
- Linus Mundy

I copied this quote from a gardening website that I like to peruse. I like this quote and web-site a lot. But I wasn't thinking about gardens when I read it. I was thinking about a movie I watched last night instead.

In the movie "Inception," which is an action packed thriller about the act of stealing one's thoughts during dreams and the planting of an idea into a target's subconscious, was not the best movie I had ever seen. As a matter of fact, I thought the movie stunk.

But today, as I was going along doing my work, I kept thinking about that movie. Its premise. And about how we all are victims of inception, each and every one of us.

The definition of inception is this; an event that is a beginning; a first part or stage of subsequent events.

We all have had seeds of something planted into our minds at some point in our lives. Many times those seeds die out; a word tossed here and there that may have hurt, but never grew.

But many did not die out. Or maybe just one grew. Perhaps even a good one. But many of us have suffered from one small bad seed our entire lives. And it changes our reality, how we see ourselves, our world and our place in it.

Scary stuff. But in fact, true.

We like to think we are the creators of our own destiny. But the sad truth is that many of us suffer. And it may have all started with that one small seed.

I wish I had not seen that movie. I worry now what seeds will grow in my own daughter. We cast a lot of seeds to the wind, never really knowing which one might stick, which one might grow.

I read a story once about a girl who, when she was naughty, was punished by having her dad make a pretend phone call to a little girl named Diana. He told Diana what a wonderful girl she was and how he was going to buy her all sorts of presents because she was so good. He only did this a few times, mainly as a joke. He and his wife laughed about it. It was a long forgotten memory. An attempt to get a child to display good behavior that many young parents make.

When the little girl grew up, she thought she had forgotten about Diana. She never thought about it. She struggled with self worth, but was in therapy and on medication that seemingly helped. She was close to her dad and they spent many wonderful, happy years together. He was always loving and supportive of her. Overall, she loved her childhood and had many happy memories.

It wasn't until she had children of her own and watched as her dad was playing with them in her family room that it hit her. Suddenly, her heart steeled as she watched. And then a memory whispered, "Don't forget Diana."

We may never know what seeds we plant or when the seed was planted in our own selves. And we could spend a lifetime trying to figure it all out and never arrive at any true understanding.

I know I don't have any answers, that is for sure. But the movie, as much as I hated it, planted a seed in my mind that I hope will stay. That words and actions are powerful. That they can truly change lives. As innocent and well intentioned as they may be.

So, I guess my goal will be to plant as many good seeds as I can as often as possible and nourish them to help them to grow. Hopefully, they will choke out the weeds that I will also inevitably plant as well.

I will end this post with a little gardening tip from a book for kids about growing healthy plants:

Seeds are the basis of all plants. That's how they come into this world. Without seeds, there would be no plants.

The basic things a seed needs are light, food and water.

Water is essential to all living creatures.

When the area their roots are in becomes dry, some plants will grow roots out to find a new source of water.

A seed has all the things that the growing plant needs. It has a covering, a protective outer layer that helps keep it from damage, and a good supply of food for the newly sprouted plant.

A seed is a little package of survival.


My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~H. Fred Dale