Faith in What We’ve Planted

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I recently sent this message to one of my clients:

“It is, perhaps, the greatest challenge for a visionary – not to control everything according to your higher view and level of knowing, but instead to have faith and trust that those around you will align with your vision.”

I liken this concept of faith and trust to that of a farmer. Once the land is prepared and the seeds are placed in the soil, aside from a few supportive efforts that he can offer, the farmer must have faith in the seed’s ability to sprout and develop and trust in the timing of the process and other elemental forces at play.

There is no amount of skill or power that a farmer has to ensure a crop will succeed. This is the same for those of us who have learned to find success in what we “know,” what we can do and ultimately what we can control. At some point, we must all learn the value and beauty of letting go and leaning into a deeper development of our faith and trust, lest we ruin everything by thinking we have to control it all.

We must believe that what we have sown will work out. We get to this place only by learning to believe in ourselves, in others and in what is evolving that is unseen and that is completely outside our control.

In so many ways, we have all planted the seeds of what we see growing around us at this very moment. Whether we like what we see or not, we can only control what we do with what is sprouting and make adjustments, where needed, to what we choose to plant next.

How many times do we react when we experience something we don’t like without stepping back and taking a moment of faith and trust to ask, “could what I see, although not what I wanted, be a blessing in disguise?” Perhaps, it is a part of a process to bring me something far better than I could have imagined. Even more, something that is better for all of us.”

Consider a corn farmer. What if he accidentally planted sorghum, and once he discovered this, thought about tearing out all of the sorghum plants to replant corn? And what if, instead, he decided to keep the plants, choosing to learn how to tend a new crop? And then, what if, that year, all of the local corn crops fail due to elemental factors, but these same environmental changes make for perfect conditions for sorghum? Would that farmer be grateful he chose to keep his sorghum crop? You bet he would!

What if, in every single choice and engagement, we had this same opportunity to have faith and trust in the actions we choose to take?

Guess what?

We do!

What have you experienced over the past 18 months that has introduced opportunities that have changed your life for the better?

What if, like the human body and all things in nature, everything is always moving towards homeostasis?

What if the more we react and try to control what’s happening, the more we block the progression towards growth and balance?

So, what do we do when we are confronted with situations and conditions that call us to change? What does active faith and trust look like when applied to intentional advancement and improvement?

I once heard a spiritual teacher discuss how to tell the difference between the internal ego voice and that of intuition. He said the ego is loud, reactionary and incessant, while the intuition is like a fleeting whisper. It is neutral, quiet and comes and goes in an instant. If we don’t pay attention, our intuition can go unheard over all the other noise in our heads. It’s that sudden thought, “I should pack a sweater.” Hours later, we find ourselves chilled after a sudden storm has come through, dropping the temperature 10 degrees.

In my life, I am focused on increasing my awareness of what voices are going on within me and from where they seem to be coming. This permits me to choose which voices I respond to and take immediate action on, and which ones are inviting me to step back and consider something. Perhaps it’s to consider the origin of the voice and whether it applies at all. Or maybe it’s asking me to look at something from multiple perspectives and choose to allow faith and trust to lead and inform my thoughts, actions and outcomes.

My question this month and moving forward is this: “How can we all learn to cultivate more faith and trust in what we have planted?”

I can tell you, it starts with being aware, intentional and purposeful about what seeds we plant and how we choose to tend them each and every day.