Planting Seeds
The true meaning of life is to plant trees
under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
Nelson Henderson
We believe that living with kindness transforms the world - not all at once and not by ourselves alone – but bit-by-bit, day-by-day, through acts of kindness powered by love. Sometimes we see a positive effect from a smile, a kind word or a simple act of support or encouragement. Sometimes we have no idea of the effect of our kindness on someone else.
It’s easy to think that our small acts of kindness are insignificant, and to think that we are arrogant to believe that we have the power to change the world. But that is because we don’t see the big picture.
We have come to realize that we will never see the full impact of any kind act. The other person may respond with a smile or with words of gratitude, and that feels good. What we don’t see is the ripple effect that may follow – how the person receiving the kindness may have a change in mood and respond with more kindness or patience with others as the day goes on.
We probably won’t see the effect on the people witnessing the kindness, but they are affected, also. Studies have shown that kindness triggers a release of feel-good chemicals in our bodies of those who perform a kind act, the recipients of the kindness and also, the observers.
It is helpful to think of acts of kindness as planting seeds. A farmer does not see the fruit of his labor at the time of the planting. It is an act of faith. He knows that the process unfolds in its natural time.
I am reminded of the legend of Johnny Appleseed, a pioneer apple farmer who is credited with planting apple seeds across a wide area in the United States in the 1800s. We learned more about the true story of his life from the Washington Apple Commission. Johnny was born in Massachusetts in 1792. At the age of 18, he began following settlers moving west, first with his younger brother and then alone.
He got the seeds free from cider mills along the way. He continued moving west, first to Pennsylvania, then into the Ohio Valley and, later, Indiana. As settlers moved west, he traveled ahead of them, creating protected garden plots and planting apple seeds, so the trees would be grown as people arrived years later.
He always circled back and tended to his trees. Over a period of nearly fifty years, he bought and sold tracts of land and developed thousands of productive apple trees. Hundreds of settlers benefited from his foresight and love of apple trees.
Johnny Appleseed saw the fruits of his labor, but we often do not. We don’t need to. Kindness is an expression of love. It is not a transaction or quid pro quo. We cannot control how someone else will react, but we are in charge of how we respond to them. It is as much about who we are as it is about what we do.
One of our favorite songs is "Planting Seeds," written and performed by Nimo Patel and Daniel Nahmod. It reminds us that we often do not see the results of our acts of kindness. It’s helpful to remember that we are planting seeds that will grow and bloom in the future – and that is a powerful incentive to add kindness whenever we can.
It’s also a reminder that sometimes we don’t get the result we want. An act of kindness may be rejected. That’s okay.
Just keep planting those seeds of love wherever you can.
Our thanks to Nimo Patel and Daniel Nahmod of Empty Hands Music.
To learn more about Nimo Patel, click here to see his TED Talk.
To learn more about Daniel Nahmod, click here.
What are your thoughts?
Does the idea of planting seeds speak to you?
Please leave a comment below.
Help us spread the message of kindness.
If you know others who might appreciate these ideas, please share below.
We’re grateful that you are on this journey with us.
With love from our hearts to yours,
Pat and Larry
