Hey PRIDE,
Happy SPRING (for all of us in the Southern hemisphere)
Turns out I planted a few very good seeds in the early days of this year, determined to see a different Season of Bloom than in my previous years.
As we all know, spring is the season where we see and bear witness to what we planted back in our early days. And depending on how much attention we gave it all, then shall we bare the fruits of our hard labour.
And guess what, if you didn’t take the time to plant your seeds during the season of harvest, then sorry for you, boo-boo, there will be no fruit nor flower for you to enjoy.
And that’s a hard lesson to accept, that when everyone was toiling at their own gardens of hopes and dreams, you were probably watching movies or scrolling aimlessly on social media. Where are you now when it is time to show the world how much you have blossomed?
It’s a good thing I went a little heavy on what I planted, because not all my seeds made it – so it was a great call to be a bit on the generous side and invest a little extra in my future.
But I was very intentional in what I planted and separated my garden of dreams accordingly.
One of the main areas I planted and paid special attention to throughout the year was to work on my health and fitness. And I am proud to say at this season of Bloom, I am very pleased with how hard I have worked, how dedicated I have remained and how beautiful this flower has become.
It’s the mental shift for me that really stands out tops. That whatever I put my mind to, I can achieve. Through clear focus and attention and never walking away from my own dreams.
I am close to notorious when it comes to planting and un-planting. Well more like discarding and abandoning the dream before I have seen the seed to full bloom.
Sometimes I over water my precious dreams till both the dream and myself are drowning in our own misery and needing to jump ship. Then I have to step away for a period of time and allow the water to settle at a safe and manageable level and hopefully return with the right amount of enthusiasm and drive to continue forward.
Halfway through my season of ploughing, I also lose focus and attention and most notably patience and once again walk away to busy myself with something else more obliging.
But I popped in to visit my parents the other day and my dad showed me a note book he’d put together to keep a journal of each plant he was focusing on in his home and when each needed to be watered, given some time outdoors or some extra nourishment to see it through the dry and cold seasons. My father had even made a column for the weekly dated entries as well as a comment section on how each plant was doing.
That was a big wow for me. It saddens me to report, that with my own house plants, sometimes I remember to water them, other times I miss a week and on most shameful times I am away travelling and forget to leave clear instructions of the care each plant needs.
How much so our own lives and dreams. If we run them like how I run the maintenance of my indoor plants, I can tell you now that only one very strong bonsai survived and every other one of my precious plants died a miserable and lonely death this year!
And that goes for the seeds of dreams we plant too. If we don’t get into a routine with it all, keep a clear record of daily, weekly and monthly progress and allow for nourishment, pruning and general maintenance in between – it’s very unlikely that we’ll have much to show and report in spring.
I also set out to work on a very personal business dream that I had been long at and hadn’t quite gotten right on many levels. January I planted that patch of seeds with all the strength and positive intentions I could master up. Only for suppliers to go missing, some let me down dismally and others over promised and under delivered. Things got so frustrating, I walked right out of that patch of promised dreams and once again abandoned the mission.
And before I knew it, it was the 1st of spring and I still had nothing to show for it. But as opposed to beating myself up about it, this time I decided that there must still be something of the dream I could save. And that in life, sometimes we’re going to need to dig up the seed and move it to a better location – be it in our minds, or even physically.
And just like I saw my dad spend time with each plant, talk to them, nurture them and give them the love and attention to grow, I too would need to do that with this particular dream.
Maybe it was a dark corner in my garden that I had planted the seeds of my dreams, maybe I didn’t need all those seeds either and could discard a few for now and focus on the ones that stood a better chance at survival.
Had I spoken lovingly to my dreams and given them the time and attention that each seed needed and deserved?
I have three more months to monitor the seeds that look like they will pull through and just as I saw my dad monitor and document all progress, I have promised myself to do the same and I am sure come summer I will have good news to report.
But one thing I was taught by both life and my father, is that even if we fail, we plant again in the new season and are never to lose hope, but to keep mastering our skills. One seed at a time.
Throughout the year, as I continued to focus on my weight and eating habits, I kept a mental record of all my triggers too – the gatherings that stimulated me to fall back into those eating binges; the no-no foods I could not allow into our pantry at home cause I would eat them up in once monstrous swoop; as well the people I surrounded myself with and what their own health regime was and if it complimented mine.
Because at the end of the day who you allow into and around your garden also has a huge impact on the outcome of your dreams. So be conscious of those weeds that lie hidden in the soil and masquerading as flowers too and pull out and throw away those who are no longer in alignment with your dreams and visions of your bright and beautiful future.
It takes hard work maintaining our seeds and ensuring the garden in which we hope for them to grow remains suitable at all times.
As the weather warms up a little for us down South, lets step into our gardens, notebook in hand and do a quick tally of how our dreams are doing so far.
With Love & PRIDE,
Nthabi Taukobong
