What Seeds Are You Planting?
“If you plant a potato, we would never expect that a rose will bloom, it will always be a potato. If you want roses, you must plant roses.”
~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Most days, one of the first things I do when I wake up is to read some inspiring quotes from spiritual leaders or other historical figures – an easy way to help me to start the day on a bright and positive note, regardless of the weather or other temporary conditions are waiting outside my bedroom door. However, a few days recently while traveling and off my usual routine, I began the day by checking Facebook or the news. Not quite as nice, I found.
Invariably, and particularly with the political circus polluting every airwave these days, I came across some highly charged social controversies and the corresponding back and forth commentary. In many cases, both sides are spouting off insults and taking cheap shots at each other, much of the negativity steeped in stereotypes and biased media sound bites. As such, these days of starting the day “staying connected” instead leaves me feeling very disconnected and distraught, feeling helpless in the face of so much anxiety, narrow-mindedness, and suffering in the world.
In both approaches to waking up and facing the day, reading just a few brief phrases can alter the course of my day. Those brief excerpts from the minds and speeches of great people are instructive in nature, presenting ways of living, thinking, and being in the world that are positive, both for oneself and for others, which leaves me uplifted and motivated to live well, to take action where I can, and to be a better person. In contrast, the half-truths conveyed by our modern media through red or blue filters, along with the pathetic efforts of comment trolls to feel some sense of power through antagonizing others, leads me to think the world is truly and totally screwed.
Strange, though, that it always takes a bit of discipline to resist the urge to check the social world outside, despite that I know what effect it will have on my mind first thing in the morning.
All of which got me to thinking about the unseen effects of our actions. Taking one thoughtful or thoughtless action, even those quickly typed digital debates, can reverberate throughout the day, for the better of worse for those in the reach of your action – a reach that has increased exponentially with social media.
Considering the tendency for negative circumstances to have a much greater impact on our psychological well-being, a concept often called the negativity bias, it makes sense to pay extra attention to the potential consequences of our actions. One harsh word will resound infinitely louder than two or three positive or neutral words, something most of us have probably experienced in one way or another – such as through an insult spat out at a spouse in the heat of an argument, leaving an emotional scar that simply won’t fade from the relationship.
Every word, every action has a consequence, no matter how small or insignificant they seem at the time. Further, we can typically predict the kinds of consequences an action will have. Shouting at someone, whether in person or on a screen, will rarely lead to positive outcomes. Acts of kindness on the other hand, particularly when done regularly, can help us to recover from negative feelings and create healthier relationships with everyone we meet.
When we plant a seed and provide the conditions for that seed to grow and thrive, we will one day reap the results of that action. So as trite as this has unfortunately come to sound in our cynical society, taking conscious action to plant seeds of hope, joy, wisdom, compassion, understanding, and tolerance will lead us to experience a world defined by those boundaries. If we are planting seeds of hatred, intolerance, and fear, we will likewise experience a world that is steeped in those negative consequences.
I’m quite certain of the world I’d prefer to live in.