From the beginning of human civilization, our species has been fascinated by cultivation. We are true agricultural revolutionaries, and we have done nearly everything possible to master the art of growth. Plentiful harvests have kept humans going. Yet, droughts have caused famines and the lack of fertile soil, water, and sunlight have almost led us to extinctions. Even United States slavery was built on the idea of cultivation for profit. Humans have done some absurd, and inhumane, things to grow and cultivate land.

I thought to myself, I imagine that there is a seed at my core. It is the color of mahogany and smooth and polished; a perfect ovular shape. It is where my heart is - my heart is a seed. When life is positive, I imagine sunlight upon the seed. I imagine a woman in a red hat coming to water the seed with a yellow watering can. Small sprouts begin to protrude from the shell and green spines spread across rich soil. This is what peace does to my heart. The warmth of others is my sun. The tranquility and simplicity of my thoughts and surroundings is the water. The fertile soil is my morality and integrity. These sprouts grow and flourish into the world; bringing life to those who encounter them. However, it is a well known fact that flourishing crops face adversity.

Insects and animals want their nourishment. These creatures destroy crops in hopes of fulfilling their own duties in the circle of life. Drought threatens the crops' existence. Dry soil, unfit for life, cannot sustain such growth. Just as in the world of agriculture, there are many factors that can hinder (or halt) our growth, parasitic individuals can use us. Bits of depression, anxiety, stress, and anger can scare away our tending gardeners. A lack of purpose, meaning, value, love, and direction ruins our soil. So just like sweet crops, we are always growing, and if we do not grow, we die.

So I suggest, just as a flower must be maintained and dutifully tended to, you should honor yourself by doing the same. Water and stabilize the precious seed that stretches its vines to touch another's. Prioritize your diet. Nourish your seed with rich soil. Prioritize exercise. Water your seed to create strong vines with tenacity. Meditate, pray, or ponder in silence. Grace your seed with peaceful sunlight. Maintain respectful and nurturing relationships. Ensure that your seed will be tended to dutifully by a trustworthy gardener. Just as your heart beats, allow your seed to grow. Just as chaos, disrespect, hate, and manipulation can cripple one’s soul, so can drought, parasites, and infertile soil to a seed. Just as we stare in awe at a beautiful bloom, and we impatiently await its arrival after a winter thaw, the world craves your beauty, patience, happiness, and kindness. There is a reason why only one letter differentiates soil from soul. We all crave a fertile foundation from which life can flourish.

When we become like the by-products of our greedy and machinist society, we have lost what it means to be of the Earth. We have lost what it means to be a soul from soil. We have deprived our seed. When we become like the silicon in a computer chip, when we uproot ourselves to be someone we are not, when we close our petals to our gardener, then we have forgotten what it means to be human. Humans are not a creation of man or technology or perfection. Rather, we are a creation of nature and all of its beauty and flaws.

Since the beginning, humans have reflected what it means to be resilient, intelligent, and nurturing. Please do not forget what it means to be human in a world in need of stewards. Please do not lose yourself in a “world” that is not reality. Be soft and malleable like soil. Allow your soul to be rich in soil. Allow the light to use you as a pasture for beauty, patience, and wisdom.

Consider this poem:

Sun and Sand

Blind Man at the Gate

The sun in my eyes

The sand between my toes

Are better for my soul

Than a thousand likes

(Yikes!)

I’m soil with a soul

A complicated rock

(On!)

Breathed on

By God

Self aware sod

A speck of the universe

Contemplating itself

And God

Evolved and involved

But not fully resolved

Gonna take more than fourscore

Before I know the score

Of this mysterious symphony

That scientists call supersymmetry

All I know is

If all I do is

Live inside my head

I might as well be

Dead

Gotta get the sun in my eyes

And the sand between my toes

The biting wind in my face

If I want to run my race

As a flesh and blood human

And not a digital one and zero

So let my foot fall on old forest humus

Or hike up to the high tundra

Or climb on some ancient granite

Or walk barefoot on sea-lapped sand

Or on some well-worn cobblestone

Before my feet are resting at the end of a box

Waiting for the new creation dawn

For no matter how pleasant the respite

I imagine we’ll miss the sun and sand