A Seeds of Hope Reflection
Autumn is the time that plants prepare their seeds for dispersal. Each seed trusts that when the conditions are just right, it will open to start another cycle of life-death-life. How miraculous!
I’m trying to be thoughtful about this both/and seasonal transition space of autumn. Colorado has the heat of late summer days partnered with cool, crisp nights - often 40+ degree day differences.
By focusing my September workshops on “Seeds of Hope,” my own planning directed (aka forced) me to slow down to hold appreciation and integration of Nature’s lessons.
So the last couple of weeks, I got to play with the seed metaphor in three pretty different venues and audiences. I had my Embodied Climate Action workshop series in the Gardens on Spring Creek in my town, I launched a course version at my local university’s extension office, and I held my monthly client community workshop.
Three seeding workshops, three different venues and audiences, three different takeaways.
Here’s a fourth version meant for you!
[Remember, taking time for reflection regularly helps us develop deeper self-awareness of our values and behaviors, creating the motivation for embodied action.]
Seeds of Hope Reflection
Seeds represent critical hope. By taking action to disperse seeds, there is trust that seeds will find grounding and spring will come again.
In playing with this metaphor, you can explore how to gather your own seeds of critical hope in your day-to-day life. This helps you to explore how to pair emotions with embodied action in the face of change and uncertainty when you may be used to experiencing paralysis and overwhelm or overing and anxiety.
Think of Seeds of Hope as small, individual, or collective moments, actions, ideas, or shifts that hold the potential to grow into larger, positive outcomes and joy or pleasure.
Consider…
Small actions with big potential
What matters most to you?
What brings you joy?
How do you cultivate pleasure in the day-to-day?
What brings you glimmers of joy?
What do you love most in Nature or in this season of Nature and your life?
Fostering a hopeful mindset
Is there a recurring emotion or thought that takes you out of hope?
What small action can you take to soothe yourself when you feel this way?
Where do you find regular inspiration? Is it one of the things that brings you joy or pleasure? Or someone or some action you admire?
Community and connection
Who do you know also has concern and cares about the future?
What do you crave in community?
When do you feel most connected to nature?
When do you feel most connected to community?
Now.
Many wildflower seeds need cold stratification in order to germinate - they need to feel a time of cold. Winter is a time of active rest, not dead or without hope. As we move through autumn towards wintering, think about what is one little action - a seed - you can take this week or month that holds hope. How might that particular seed need you to care for and nurture its potential over the following months?
Here are some readings that plant seeds of hope for me right now:
The Hidden Life of Seeds by Sarah Kaplan, Alice Li, and Audrey Valbuena August 27, 2024, Washington Post
Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World by Katherine Hayhoe
“We’re not fighting for a merely ‘livable’ planet. We're fighting for a riotous, wild, gorgeous, generous, miraculous, life-cradling planet that's home to a society that works for everyone.” - climate scientist Peter Kalmus, Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution