"In April, we cannot see sunflowers in France, so we might say the sunflowers do not exist. But thelocal farmers have already planted thousands of seeds, and when they look at the bare hills, they may be able to see the sunflowers already. The sunflowers are there. They Lack only the conditions of sun, heat, rain, and July. Just becaue we cannot see them does not mean that they do not exist."
~Thich Nhat Hanh
We may not see the blossoms of the seeds we plant today but they exist and as the sunflowers change the landscape of Tuscan hills, so do will each seed of goodness change lives and brighten our world!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Seeds that Change Lives and the World
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
18 comments:
Hi Jennifer,
Wonderful to see your positive, inspirational, writing. A big contrast from the words that usually come a person's way from this world.
Many thoughts come to my mind as I read this blog entry.
There's a bhagvadgita sloka that comes to mind, first of all.
_________
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोस्त्वऽकर्मणि॥
Line 1: Karmanyevadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana - Don't expect fruits. To expect a fruit is a mistake that leads to suffering.
Line 2: Ma karma phala he tur bhuh, ma te sangvasta karmani; - You have a duty, you have an obligation to do, but you have no right to expect a particular consequence or result or fruit to follow from what you do. ____________
One has control over only one's actions and not on the results of one's actions. The results will (perhaps) come as per the actions.
In this bizarre world of utter breakdown between cause & effect, this sloka is a breath of fresh air..
Its vital that one just puts in effort and does NOT become eager for the fruits of one's labour.
Does not mean one should not take rewards if they come.
Only that one should not worry about whether the seeds will indeed flower....just keep doing the best possible.
Waiting for results is a source of great anguish, and a waste of energy.
Such selfless action would be painless. When one considers oneself to be just a conduit through which work happens.
Sort of points the way to the de-personalisation of human life/actions.
Which would be quite Advaita- Vedantic. Do away with the illusion of do-ership...and the associated feelings of failure would vanish as a consequence...
______________
And last, but not the least, I am reminded of Bruce Springsteen lyrics (This HardLand)...its natural to wonder about why the seeds have not grown...
"Hey there mister can you tell me
What happened to the seeds I've sown
Can you give me a reason, sir, as to why they've never grown
They've just blown around from town to town
Back out on these fields
Where they fall from my hand
Back into the dirt of this hard land.."And I think you've just helped me plan out my next blog entry on Advaita Vedanta, Cause-Effect, Bhagvadgita, Karma Yoga & Selfless Action and Do-ership!
LOL.
Take care and thanks,
Vikram
Hey Vikram,
It is great to see you... I hope you are well! :-)
Thank you so much for adding your insight and reflections. I always find your comments refreshing and insightful providing me more ideas to contemplate! Very nice!!!
A lot of thoughts fill my mind as I ponder the message in this post.
The very fact that most often we cannot see the results of our "seeds" seems to create the dynamic that potentially releases the ego. IOW, It (again potentially) moves us to a place where we act in goodness because it is the healthy or holy way to live rather than because we want praise or respect or wealth or honor.
Also, while I want my blog to focus on the goodness of life, it is also true that "ugly" seeds of hatred or harm also manifest in ways we may not see.
Thanks so much for being here!
Big hugs,
Jen
Yes jennifer, I fully agree with your views.The same is true with regard to our karmas(actions).
'as we sow so shall we reap.'
Thanks for your visit to my blog and encouraging comments.
God bless.
hello... hapi blogging... have a nice day! just visiting here....
hello... you may submit this blog to my webBlog Directory, keyworddir.info.. have a nice day!
Keyword Directory
hi there wanna do link exchange with my website www.onlinetalkz.com drop in a msg on my blog to let me know...thx....
Hi Jennifer, Really great blog. I'm all for planting seeds of goodness and watching them blossom. Would you be interested in joining "The Network Of Helping Hands" It's a new community I started a few days ago and we are looking for people to post inspirational blogs and participate in the Groups and Forums to help build the community. If you are interested, I would love for you to be a part of our group . Take Care, Linda
http://helpinghands25.ning.com
Hi Jennifer,
There were some minor errors in the translation of the sanskrit shloka I left here at your blog, wanted to fix it:
Line 2:
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोस्त्वऽकर्मणि॥
Translation/meaning:
Do not think you are the cause of the results of your work, and do not give in to disappointment and inaction if the results you desired do not come from your efforts.
This is Shloka number : 47, Chapter 2, The Bhagvadgita.
___________________
P.S. Whatever you do, do *not* add the "google friend connect" or the "Followers" gadget to any of your blogs!! This gadget is faulty and has crippled many blogs.
Take care,
Vikram
Hi Just found your beautiful blog
This post makes me think of a quote I just found
Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant
The Tuscan hills mmm a magical place
Hi Just found your beautiful blog
This post makes me think of a quote I just found
Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant
The Tuscan hills mmm a magical place
Hi Jenny,
I'm new to reading your blog, and this post is highly inspiring. Not much people can convey such inspiring thought in an easy and short message. I'll be waiting for your next post. Many thanks for the great inspiration!
Dearest Jennifer,
You are an absolute inspiration,
These words will stay with me today,
Planting seeds of hope somewhere within me,
Much love to you dear friend,
M
Thanks for all your positive words and openness. I think that you and maybe your readers too would be interested to check out this book http://www.theanswers.us/ which draws from the Ancients and their spirituality.
hi... just dropping by!
http://www.fileafro.com
http://mobileandetc.blogspot.com
http://kantahanan.blogspot.com
Dearest Jennifer,
We see the blessings which our eyes lay claim to, and we still behold that which remains unseen, like a poem at the end of the mind. Wallace Stevens says of his snowman,
"For the listener,
Who listens in the snow,
And nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there
And the nothing that is."
Jeff
Thanks for this -- I appreciated the quote. To me it's about recognizing that all the parts of you that you may think you're missing -- courage, or persistence, or something else -- have actually been there all along and they just need to be seen.
yes agree seeds can change lives
Post a Comment