A Tale of Growth and Grit

 Zinnias, Birds, and Jim Rohn's Wisdom: A Tale of Growth and Grit

I have been growing Zinnias for years. In late summer, (usually September or so), I pluck the deadheads, drying them in the basement during the winter season. In the spring, I pull the petals off the dried heads, separate the petals from the seeds and plant those seeds. Year after year, I have beautiful beds of Zinnias. 

But a few years ago, a strange thing occurred. I started noticing that the petals would be stripped bare before I could get to them. One day, after running errands in my van, I pulled in the driveway beside our house and more than a dozen Gold Finches dismounted from my Zinnia patch, taking flight into the air. "Guilty!!" – they seemed to chirp as they flew away. Later, standing by my window, spying on the flowers, I observed the birds pulling the petals off, one by one! I was horrified as I watched them yank the petals with their beaks. 

"Aha," I said to myself. "It's the Gold Finches who are stripping the flowers – before I can harvest them." (You must wait until they've dried completely before cutting them from the plant.)

We've had Zinnias and Finches for years and never had this problem. 

Each summer, we now have a competition: Frances Versus Gold Finches. If I can harvest the dried blooms before the Finches get them, score! If they get them... well, they rob me of next year's crop. 

Today, as I harvested more dried blooms (trying to beat the Finches), I thought about Jim Rohn and his teaching about sowing, reaping, and success, using the story of the birds and the seeds:

When the birds get your seeds, you have two options. 

1) Chase the birds. 

But when you chase the birds you leave the field which is going to distract from your future. 

2) You can just say, "Isn’t that interesting."

If you sow more, you can sow more than the birds can keep up with. 

The sower kept on sowing which was a secret to his success.

– Jim Rohn

How tempting it could be to leave the yard and go chase the birds. Instead, I just plant an abundance of seeds, ensuring that some will survive and be successful.

Birthday Reflections.

Yesterday was a day of delight. Tom took me out for breakfast to one of our favorite places—Jaymee Lee's Diner. It's not that it's a fancy place, but it's my hometown. We stay caught up on the local chatter. 

We learned that a neighbor lost 13 calves this spring due to the long cold winter that's extended way too far into April. I was touched by his love for the calves. Especially since it didn't seem to be about the loss of money but the loss of little creatures. I inwardly groaned at his loss.  

After breakfast, I got my flower beds ready for planting the zinnia seeds I harvested last fall and kept through the winter. I eagerly wait for warmer weather when I can generously scatter them throughout the beds. My soul is always nourished by this yearly practice of working the soil, planting the seeds and harvesting more for next year.

After yard work, I visited the Newville library—another favorite hometown place. When I go to the library, I feel like I can do anything. I picked up a book I ordered called "Finishing the Hat" by Stephen Sondheim. The conductor of Portraits of White recommended I read—no—STUDY, this book to help me in my songwriting. I'm going to need to purchase one of my own. For now, this will have to do. 

We ate homemade vegetable beef soup for lunch. My soup supply is almost gone from the freezer. Soon it will be time to make more. It's amazing to feel the need for warm soup on April 26. The lilacs aren't anywhere close to blooming which is unusual. I often have lilacs for my birthday. Not this year.

After lunch, I rode my bicycle on the Newville trail all the way to Shippensburg University—something I've wanted to do for weeks but have never felt like I had the time. Yesterday I took the time. It was incredible. I sat on the campus for a short break and enjoyed a tart, crisp apple and a smoothie I made just for the trip. 

Tom and I enjoyed a delicious dinner at Ruby Tuesdays (we love those coupons that come in the mail!) along with the presence of a mother duck waddling down the sidewalk outside our window. It wasn't even a minute after Tom said, "she probably has a nest near here" that she "ducked" under the bush right outside our window and plopped down on a big furry nest. The people at the table next to us also watched her settle in and move the eggs around in the nest, uncovering them just enough to let us see that there were at least 7-8 eggs. We all broke into lively chatter about the duck nesting outside the restaurant.

My present from Tom this year was a very special surprise! I now have fancy lights on my bright red Yamaha VStar that change color. They will show up best at night, so one of these evenings when the weather is finally warm, you might see me cruising around the neighborhood on my "night-rider". 

While I was spending my day doing what I love to do, my mind was mulling over the past 52 years of my life. What have I learned about life that I want to keep for the next 50 years? What would my proverbs be?

Here are my thoughts—in no special order.

• Goals are only handles, not molds.

• You can change anything about yourself if you first change your mind.

• You can accomplish whatever you set your mind to if you'll commit to spending 30 minutes a day on it.

• There will come a day when your dreams take more work than you could have ever imagined. When that day comes, you'll know you are officially on your way to achieving them.

• "Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce. Then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vat bursting with wine." Proverbs 3:9-10. And you will likely have a ton of work to do. Don't let that take you by surprise.

• Prayer will be your life-support. Don't ever pull that plug.

• The work required of you when you pursue your dream is never going to end. So learn to embrace the work of the real as much as you embraced the love of the ideal.

• You never need to stay who you were. Decide who you want to be before you get there, and you will become that person.

• Five minutes spent doing what you love is like a blink of the eye. Five minutes spent doing what you hate is like forever. Since life is filled with many five-minute increments, make sure you blink often.

• Once a week, allow yourself a day to turn off your phone, your computer, and any other gizmos. Go for a walk. Take snapshots of the scenery with your heart and mind. Don't post them anywhere—not on Facebook, not on Instagram. One day a week, look at life without the lens of social media so you can remember what it's like to "just be".

"Seedy" Generosity

When I plant seeds, this is how I tend to sow:
Sparingly enough to get one flower.

But this is how I want to sow:

Generously enough to have plenty to give away.

I confess.

I'm greedy.

I hoard.

I'm afraid I won't have enough.

I don't know why.

I used to buy a pack of zinnia seeds and plant each little seed with care, trying not to drop any. None to spare. It's tedious!

Last year I saved the dead flowers because they contain seeds.  I ended up with so many seeds that this year I could have planted a field. Because I had so many to spare, I recklessly threw them across the ground knowing that even if only 1/4 of them come up, I'll have more than I need.

THAT was fun!

I was generous this year because I knew I had plenty to spare.

I was hoarding before because I was afraid I wouldn't have enough.

Therein lies the difference. How I view the source from which I give.

If I believe there is enough to go around, I give generously.

If I fear losing the little I have, I will never share.

There's a saying that always makes me stop and think. 

"I could give all that I have to feed the poor, I could surrender my body to be burned as a martyr, but if I do not live in love, I gain nothing by my selfless acts."  I Cor. 13:3 (The Voice)

That explains "seedy" generosity.  It looks great to others. But....it is tainted by fear, lack and obligation. Sharing it will only reap more fear, lack and obligation. It doesn't sprout from deep love. 

Father God, please change my heart. Let me see how much I have to share and give it away generously. Help me to stop being clouded by fear of the future. When I do give, please let it be from a deep reservoir of grace, mercy and abundance, not out of fear, lack and obligation.