Follow
We often talk about happiness as though it’s lurking there, somewhere outside ourselves. We see evidence of it in other people, but we aren’t sure we can experience it ourselves. The truth is you can’t be happy in the future unless you’re happy now. The potential is already inside you-just as the potential for a plant is already there inside a seed.
It brings to mind an experience I had after I retired.
I decided to plant a vegetable garden. I was intrigued, not just with the idea of eating healthier meals, but also with the chance to watch nature in action, close-up. I bought a variety of herbs and vegetables from my local garden shop and planted them alongside my house. Within just a few days of watering, I observed tiny green signs of life peeking up through the dirt.
I love zucchini, so I’d purchased two little potted plants. As they became recognizable, I saw that, sure enough, one of them was forming the familiar green shape of zucchini. But the other one was yellow with a bulging bottom. I examined the identification cards supplied with each little pot, and sure enough, they were identical: “Squash Zucchini.”
Soon it became clear that something was wrong. No matter what the labels said, one of the plants wasn’t the zucchini I thought I’d bought. It was obvious one had been mislabeled. Even though the yellow squash had been labeled as zucchini, with my care and nurturing, it produced what it had inside all along: the potential to become a yellow squash.
Like that plant, we have the potential to manifest our own happiness, despite any labels we-or others-may give ourselves. Once we recognize the “seed of happiness” is within us right now, we can free ourselves to bring it forth.
Your happiness is not the same as another person’s-just as that zucchini plant yielded zucchini while the yellow squash plant yielded yellow squash. I don’t imagine either plant wished it was the same as the other (if plants can think!). Each just grew into what it was meant to be.
Speak Your Mind