Do you know the legend of Johnny Appleseed? The tale goes that Johnny wandered the East and Midwest of the United States sowing apple seeds as he went.
The tale is based on the life of John Chapman, a nurseryman in the 1700s. He planted not just seeds but whole orchards and then gave them to others. He was said to be kind and generous, and those qualities are also seeds he planted along the way.
You might ask, “What does that have to do with me? I’m not Johnny Appleseed. I’m not going to wander around planting trees.”
True. However, our thoughts and actions are seeds that are planted and grow in our mind and heart. Just as physical seeds, the seeds of thought that we nurture will grow. They become our experience and shape our lives.
A thriving life depends not so much on what we have been in the past but on what we nurture today. Author Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.”
Just as Johnny Appleseed planted apple trees and provided nourishment and sustenance to those in need, so too can we plant thought seeds to nourish our own lives.
Planting thought seeds starts with a vision of what qualities we want to experience in life. It continues with observing those qualities within ourselves and others. If we focus on how plentiful these qualities show up in life, we will see what we have to contribute as well as reap. We can feed our thoughts with affirmations and energy and take action to help them grow.
Just like Johnny spread the benefits of his labor and his love to many, so too can we reap the rewards and share our harvest with others.
The Rev. Linda McNamar is a Laguna Woods Village resident.
