The Sower and The Seed
Claiming agency and ownership
Photo Credit: Photo by Dương Trà on Unsplash
Even if you have not been brought up in a Christian household the parable of the Sower and The Seed (Mark 4:3-19) will resonate with you on some level. Where do you find yourself in the story?
“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."
There is a literal truth to this and farmers tend their and cultivate their land so that when it comes time to scatter, or sow, their seed the majority of seeds will fall into good soil, tended by the farmer the intention is that those seeds will yield a good crop.
But this isn’t a story just for farmers, there is a metaphorical story here too, a story that speaks to me, the seed in me, that yearns to grow, expand and be my fullest potential.
I find myself as the seed and as the seed the question that arises for me is where am I?
I know my heart is precious and that fills me with joy but am I on rocky soil struggling to put down roots, or am I among the thorns of lured success and achievement measured by Instagram followers, money, quality and status of my possessions and trappings or am I in good soil that will nourish and sustain me to put down the roots to find inner sustenance, will and resilience to show my heart in the world?
I yearn to know where I am. As the seed I am without agency. How can I put my heart in the world if I don’t know if I am in the right place?
The crux of my human dilemma. As the seed I am powerless, I can never be safe to crack open and put down roots, my consciousness is pre-occupied with the risk, I will be tentative and reticent in life.
What happens with this awareness is I wonder where else I could find myself in the story? What is available to me when I consider I am the sower and the seed, in the hands of a farmer who cares about yield and the nourishment of my heart rather than at the mercy of a careless sower scattering seeds in the wilderness?
When I lean into the essence of the farmer in this story, I can feel the love, care and dedication to the ground to the soil in which I am to be planted. Taking that metaphor back into the literal I have the power to establish the conditions and cultivate the ground to guarantee a healthy crop and the best yield for me.
I have agency. I have ownership and I decide what conditions will serve and nourish me.
The seed is a profound metaphor for the work of Evolve. Evolution is natural, it is inherent but when we are not confident about the environment that we are in we will not become the fullness of potential. We will find life a struggle, feel ungrounded and easily knocked over, we will fight the seductions of the material world and not have the resources to tap into our deepest knowing. Evolve events are curated environments, tilled and cultivated soil that provide people with the support and nurturing to facilitate the fullest of expression of themselves.
Evolve: The Spirit Led Leadership program starts on 14th September and runs until 1st June. I am the farmer creating the field I want to grow in, with a view to a beautiful summer harvest in June 2025.
If you are looking for fertile soil to become the fullness of who you are check out our program or join our mailing list. Links in the comments.
#sowing #ownership #evolution #agency