The Gift of Roots and Shoots

Photo Credit: My husband

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Roots and Shoots

“Till your mental soil with determination. Fertilize your emotional soil with positive words.  And plant the seed of your heart’s desire with your disciplined efforts.”

Iyanla Vanzant

When you think of a tiny seed what comes to mind?

Do you think of all the varieties of plants this tiny pod can design?

Flowers, fruit, vegetables and trees. 

There are so many wonderful things that come from seeds. 

Those seeds need to be watered, cultivated and fertilized.

These seeds grow the trees that are truly poems to nature and humanity.

The roots go deep and reach very far. 

They draw their life force from the soil whether soft or hard.

What are your seeds and roots made of?

What kind of soil is cultivating your roots?

Are you fertilizing and care for those roots and shoots?

What are the shoots? 

The roots of the tree shoot everywhere in the ground so that they can become really tall trees. 

Cultivate good seeds, nourish your roots.  

Be the best version with robust roots and shoots. 

Do you ever pause and think about just how wondrous a tiny seed can be?  Look around you, the trees in all of their glory stand tall because of seeds. A seed is an actual embryonic plant enclosed with a hard exterior.   We eat fruits and vegetables because our ancestors cultivated seeds for us to eat.  Flowers in all their beauty are from seeds.  Seeds are life itself.  Every seed that we enjoy today originated from wild plants that were bitter and sour. They were not at all palatable to the human sense of taste.  Since the inception of finding seeds, humankind has constantly worked to improve the seeds quality for an even more robust harvest. Inside those seeds there is usually a supply of nutrients that enables that seed to sprout and grow.  Seeds come in many diverse sizes. There are a fair amount of very small seeds and diversely some large seeds.  The seeds that are smaller germinate much more quickly.  Seeds can be sown through the wind, carried by animals and even transplanted by ants.  After the sowing comes germination, where the seed actually begins to grow.  This is all dependent on the environment in which the seed is sown.  If the seed is not watered it will dry up and eventually die.  What an amazing process from such a small origin.  How do seeds relate to our everyday life?  Well, it is quite obvious that we need to plant good seeds in our life and conversely plant good seeds into the lives of others.  Some folks may not be ready to receive the message but you have planted the seed.  The same is true for us.  Those seeds are there, waiting to come forth from their pod and produce goodness in our life.  To those seeds that are not needed. We can let them dry and wither.  We all are different, we need different seeds to grow and thrive in our life.  Our thoughts are like seeds.  What do you dwell on?  If the majority of those musings are mostly negative the harvest will be a bad attitude right?  What if you take those turgid thoughts and water them with thoughts like, what can I learn?  How can I be better?  How can I plant a seed so that this place of dwelling goes from darkness to light?  No seed starts out as a beautiful garden awash in vegetation and flowers.  It takes time, effort, pruning, nourishing, watering and discipline.  The very first time I fancied myself a gardener I just bought a few seeds from our local department store.  I had no idea what I was doing, I had no idea what kind of soil to use.  I was in fact, clueless.  The first year (I am not kidding) I planted about 4 tomato plants in my backyard, in the shade and in the Georgia red clay soil.  I did not fertilize it, I just thought, hey!  It will grow.  My neighbor is an avid gardener.  He has impressive stalks of corn that look glorious. He has tomatoes for days, beans, herbs, onion, garlic, muscadine vines.  It is quite impressive.  I told him how my plants just wouldn’t grow.  He very graciously came over and in a very fatherly voice said, “My dear, you need sunlight and good soil to start with.  After that some good watering and patience your seeds will start to grow.”  He led me to a better spot to plant my tomatoes.  After planting them in a better, more sunny area we had a bumper crop of nice big red tomates.  The seeds were there, they were just not thriving where they were planted.  My sweet neighbor in all of his very sage wisdom taught me a lesson that day.  Plant the seeds of your life in an area that will cause you to grow and to give the gift of seeds and possibly positive growth to others.  Those roots and shoots will travel throughout the ground making for a much stronger foundation, after that those seeds can be carried far and wide to hopefully make someone else find a fertile place to grow. 

Source:tinybuddha.com

My books are on Amazon! 

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot

The Gift of Darkness to Light

I took this on one of our early morning walks...

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Darkness to LIght.

“In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.”

Sir Frances Bacon

Do you feel encompassed by darkness?

Do you feel the weight of its might?

The light just can’t permeate, you just want to give up the fight.

You try to find your way, you crawl and use your hands. 

You feel around in the darkness. 

You try to stand. 

You are not sure you can find your footing.

You squint your eyes to see.

That one little pin prick of light, that will guide you to luminosity.

You stand and pray.

You hope and dream that this light will come to be. 

Your prayers lead you to firm footing, and you think that you just might see…

A small bit of shining as your eyes adjust to the dark, could it be?

Your spirit is bolstered, your heart starts to beat with a quick pump and a start.  

You take those ginger steps towards that small source of light. 

It becomes brighter and brighter as you squint with all your might. 

The prayers, the tears, the heartache, the storms.

You see them start to dissipate.

As the light just comes a little brighter with each step you take. 

When you have your sure footing your steps become more sure. 

Dear One, it is most certainly darkest before the dawn. 

Of that you can be sure. 

Don’t give up, pray, stand up in the dark.

So that when the sun begins to shine you know you made it even when times were dark.

Give thanks, feel the light, know your strength. 

You can do this, you are stronger than you think.

Today I was pondering the phrase, “It is always darkest before the day dawneth.” This phrase was uttered by theologian and historian Thomas Fuller. He uttered this phrase when he stood on Mt. Pisgah.  Moses stood there before his death to see the promised land. There are times when I feel that we are in a very dark time in humanity.  We have so much as compared to other places. Yet, well… we think it is too little. Recently I read a book about places in Appalachia where there are folks who cannot read, they don’t have running water or heat. They are destitute in poverty.  Right in this country.  It really caused me to convert my, “Ugh, I have to go to the store.” to “I am so blessed to be able to go to the store.”  This past year in our home has been dark, there have been health issues galore with several family members, other traumatic events as well.  Top it all off with the news cycle, social media, the division of folks. It just seems dark, right? You often hear people equate dawn and sunrise.  When in fact they are completely different. Dawn is when you can detect a little light in the sky.  Sunrise is when the sun makes its first peaks over the horizon.  I have shared many writings about my dark:30 walks with my husband.  This morning it was early, cold, and honestly I did not feel like doing it.  What a great attitude, right?  But in my move towards changing my line of thinking I stopped.  I thanked God that I woke up, I could walk, and as we were coming down the driveway, I saw the first pin pricks of light announcing the dawn. A lot of the time we have to tread some darkness to bask in the full light of day.  What is the real point of this musing? Keep going, keep the faith, keep praying, keep that strength.  Crawl, walk, stumble towards the light.  When the path is clear and lit, you know you have made it.  Let us pray for our world.  Let us pray for those who are in the midst of harsh war. Let us pray for our country. Let us pray for each other.  I leave you all with a quick story about Cpl Duane E Dewey.  He fought during the Korean war.  Earlier he had been significantly injured by a grenade during an attack during the night.  They were outnumbered and outgunned. Cpl. Dewey saw a grenade land in the midst of the soldiers.  He told everyone to get back and he selflessly jumped on top of the grenade. He was lifted off the ground and still survived.  When he was taken for treatment, they also found a gunshot wound in his stomach.  He was the recipient of the first Medal of Honor ever presented by Dwight D. Eisenhower.  Cpl. Dewey thought nothing of saving his whole squad in a very dark time.  We probably won’t ever be faced with a situation as dark as this (God willing)..... But we can appreciate his bravery of climbing from deep darkness into light.  Keep searching for that pinprick of light.. Eventually your path will be gloriously illuminated. 

Sources:

Uso.org

Bookbrowse.com

My Books are on Amazon!

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot

Clean it Up!  Wash it Up!

Coming soon:

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk

The Case of the Missing Ornaments

Appalachian Allegory

The Gift of Clean Sheets

I took this at a Naval Base in Rhode Island.  It just reminds me of your mind after you spent time cleaning inside...  a beautiful canvas that can be built upon.

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Clean Sheets

To be clean, what does that mean?

To be washed from dirt and impurities. 

To be refreshed and given a new scent that doesn’t contain the foul smells.

To be dried in the sun or dried with heat.

To make sure the item is free of germs.

What needs cleaning in your life?

What have you neglected for a long time?

Have you cleared your mind of constant negative thoughts?

Have you cleaned up your words?

Have you cleaned up your actions?

We all need a little cleaning to wash off the dust of daily life. 

So take a moment, do a little cleaning. 

This will change your actions. 

You know that feeling of laying down on freshly laundered sheets?  It feels amazing!  Maybe that is specific to our family but clean sheets are quite important. Having children in the military, they take clean to another level. Our twin boys attend a military college.  Each week their room is inspected for cleanliness.  The hangers have to contain exactly one finger length between each shirt or pants.  They have to own a footlocker for your miscellaneous items.  The floor has to be clean, the bathroom spotless.  If something fails inspection they get demerits. Pretty astounding, right?  Think about when you do not clean things in your home.  We are all guilty of this activity.  What happens?  The dirt, dust and grime build up because of neglect.  When you do finally reach the moment to cleanse and polish the items it takes twice as long to scrub, dust, sweet and mop the area.  Not only does this take extra time, you have an increased chance of getting sick because the dirt, dust, germs deteriorate air quality in your home.  If you have clutter everywhere what happens?  You trip and fall and in some cases get hurt.  I can hear you saying, “I hate to clean.” Agreed.  I know a handful of folks who like to clean but the necessity to clean never goes away.  Now, let us move this into our everyday life.  What happens if you do not take a little time to wash off and sanitize our thoughts and our spiritual life? We start to thrive off negative thoughts and emotions.  If you wake up in a negative mindset that sets the tone for your entire day.  Positive folks want others to be happy.  Even if their circumstances are vastly different.  Recently I read a quote that said, “It’s hard to be happy when you do not clean up or even throw out what is making you sad.” It is not always easy or even possible, but perhaps a little dusting off would help you make it to a better place mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  Those of us who have kids, particularly a quiver full fought the battle of cleaning constantly with kids when they were little.  When our daughter was about 8 years old she was quite distraught because she could not find a particular stuffed animal that was important to her.  My husband and I walked into her room and it looked like a tornado had blown through not once but several times.  It was utter chaos. Our parenting style was we were not going to do everything for them but rather start helping them and guiding them and ultimately they finish the job.  We told her to start by picking things up off the floor.  Find the garbage and put it in the trash, put the clothes in the basket, etc. Our daughter took everything, clothes, stuffed animals, trash, everything and deposited said items onto her bed.  She came to us quite proud that she had “cleaned” her room.  We walked into her room and well, yes the room was clean but the bed looked like the tornado just picked everything up and put it on her bed.  In all of her “cleaning” she still had not found the all important stuffed animal.  We told her to perhaps actually take everything off the bed and put it in their special place.  After all, she will eventually have to go to bed and well, it would be hard to sleep on that pile.  “I’ll just sleep on the floor.” She said, with a sigh we were in for the long haul helping her clean her room.  We threw away the garbage.  Put the toys in their special place and what do you know?  Her important stuffed animal was at the bottom of the pile.  How many times do we chuck everything into a corner or pile our “dirty bits” on top of a metaphorical bed?  I know I am guilty of these actions a lot.  We all need to take a little time each week or each day to put on those clean sheets.  Clean out that pile of negative emotions, find that small sliver of clean and start to declutter our life. I would add in this particularly dark time in the world it is so necessary to clean those spiritual sheets.  Wash our minds, scrub our souls.  Pray for others.  I leave you with a witty quote from Lauren Bacall: “The best things in life are clean living, good works and big sapphires.  And not in that order.”

  My books are on Amazon:  

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot

Clean it Up! Wash it Up!

Coming soon:

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk

The Case of the Missing Ornaments

Appalachian Allegory

The Gift of Life is Beautiful

Pray dear friends.  

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Life is Beautiful

“Life is abundant, and life is beautiful. And it's a good place that we're all in, you know, on this earth, if we take care of it.” “Keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life's a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about.”

Life is Beautiful

Life.  It is supposed to be beautiful. 

Humans should love each other. 

Look at the news, see the suffering. 

There is no evidence of that love.

Common respect, love for your neighbor.

Those tenets have clearly fallen out of favor. 

There has to be goodness out there. 

Surely, there has to be. 

Prayers, fervent prolonged and urgent

They are needed for those who are suffering such terror. 

The suffering is too much to bear. 

The mother crying for her child.

The family slaughtered, the hostages taken. 

The violence, it is just vile.

What can we do?

How can we help?

What can we say? 

Again dear readers, first. Pray.

After that, be kind to your neighbor. 

Give them the gift of care.

Give them a smile.

Lift them up.

Find what brings us together and make that your goal.

Tell those who seek to divide us we stand for one common goal.

Do good, be good. Love your neighbor as yourself. 

Stop the river of hatred. 

Release the dam of goodness, gentleness and care.

I have no words for the news that I have been listening to today.  I cried.  I mourned.  So much evil in the world.  Children are being killed.  Mothers are bearing so much pain.  Families are being slaughtered.  I just have no words.  I know that some folks say, “Take those prayers and actually do something.”  Well, I would say to you, that prayers do work. To know that someone has you on their mind when you are going through immense struggle is indeed a comfort.  To know that there are those who pray for peace.  It is a great comfort.  I have spoken to a couple of folks who are impacted by this situation in that part of the world.  They have asked explicitly and implicitly for prayer.  Friends.  Pray.  For those of us who are parents, pray for those who have no clue where their children are located.  Can you imagine?  I would be crawling out of my skin.  Recently I read the book that is associated with a movie from the 90s called, “Life is Beautiful.”  It was based on a family that was taken to death camps during World War II.  The family was separated.  The father was with the son, he did not want his young son to really know the severity of the situation.  He made their imprisonment like a game.  A game that was played during their entire time in that camp.  When the liberation was at hand, the father told his son to hide in a box until morning.  He knew the liberation was coming.  Shortly before morning came the father was captured and executed.  The son waited until the morning and was met with US Soldiers who were freeing those who were captive.  The son emerged from the box thinking he had won the game.  He was completely unaware that his father gave the ultimate sacrifice to save him.  He was eventually reunited with his mother.  The book ends with him reflecting as an adult just how much his father did to protect him through some pretty harrowing circumstances.  Friends, I have to wonder if that is going on right now.  Fathers, mothers, protecting the innocent from the ravages of war.  Yes, we must pray.  We must be good to those around us.  We must count our blessings.  We must see that diamond in the rough.  We must because life is indeed beautiful.  Life can also change in an instant.  Find the beautiful. 

The Gift of Blooming

Plant yourself in fertile soil and bloom!

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Blooming

“When you are in a dark place, you sometimes tend to think you’ve been buried.  Perhaps you have been planted.  Bloom.

Unknown

Are you in a dark place?

Is there much despair?

Do you feel dormant and feel lack of growth and meaningful care?

Is the light not at the end of the tunnel?

Can you not break free?

Well perhaps dear reader, you may just be planted to take root and bloom for all the world to see. 

Take the time, reflect and pray. 

Water your spirit with scripture or meaningful words each day.

Fertilize your mind with goodness, grace, and discipline.

Make it your purpose to grow strong roots that can withstand the rays of the sun, the pounding rain and the days where no rain can be found. 

Bloom the most beautiful blooms, and after you have taken the time, show others the true meaning of going from seed, to root, to sprout, to bloom.

Show your blooms beauty, let your fragrance fill the room

Show everyone that you went from darkness to light. 

Be the example of true and beneficial growth. 

I know that each and every one of us have felt like we were in dark places at varying times in our lives, right?  Perhaps you feel like you are in a constant dark place.  So much of life is how you look at it, is it not?  The cynic would probably disagree, most likely.  Maybe not.  It probably depends on the cynic honestly.  I digress.  We have all found ourselves in dark places.  Honestly, I have struggled with this since late last year. Health issues, family issues, work issues, house issues, etc.. etc.. etc..  There are times when it seems that they all pile on at one time.  That is when the darkness can, and will come in, take over and overwhelm you.  So what can you do?  For me, pray.  Pray lots.  I have started meditating with classical music.  Active listening (I am a talker that is a challenge for me), finding one thing each day to be thankful for.  I made a resolution for the New Year to say, “Good Morning” to my husband each day.  Honestly, some days I mumble it.  Some days I say it cheerfully.  I have only missed one morning this year.  Set goals.  For me, it is to publish my novel and two more children’s books before the year is over.  That is ambitious, and I may not make it… but they are goals.  My husband often asks me, "What are you building?" I would add to that... What are you planting? Start small, make your bed in the morning.  Have you ever heard the lecture about making your bed?  The idea is that if you make your bed every morning you will start a habit that will lead you to more discipline which in turn will help you go on to do bigger and better… and more disciplined actions. Also, what kind of soil are you planting your seeds in?  Are you just throwing it right out to where the birds can consume it? Are you wasting your time on situations that are just that, for the birds?  Are you planting on rocky soil?  The plant springs up and then dies quickly because of the shallow soil.  The sun scorches the plant and it is just not going to bloom.  Do you plant yourself amongst thorns? The thorns will take you over. I liken those thorns to life.  You are either going to live purposefully or life is going to dictate it to you in some way and as my husband tells my kids, “If you don’t make a plan, life will make it for you, and in most cases you probably will not like it.”  That way is usually the way of thorns.  Overwhelming thorns that keep you in a state of constant disarray.   You will rarely if ever bloom.  Or, is your soil fertile? It is filled with good influences, good thoughts, good reads, filled with a spiritual circle that can help you in the toughest of times. During your dark times, throwing your seeds to the birds, those physical delights that provide temporary solace.  They have no lasting effect.  The rocks provide a temporary solace.  Those things that on the surface might bring you pleasure.  But when the hard times come, the sun beats down and there is little water… well, you will wither. The thorns, those things that keep you from discipline.  Those habits that have never really helped but you keep doing them.  They will eventually eat you up in their darkness.  Or… can you gloriously, and wonderfully try to plant yourself in good fertile soil?  You can’t grow if you stay in the darkness.  What is your darkness?  Is it spending way too much time on social media?  I watched a news story that social media is single handedly destroying some folks because they simply do not know how/when to get off.  Is it politics? I tell you what, I cannot stomach more than five minutes of watching anything political these days. It is just too toxic. What is fertile ground for you?  Fertile ground is finding meaning in a world that is lost, praying, meditating, cultivating good habits.  It is spending less time on the screen and more time loving your neighbors.  It is taking a walk, learning something new.  One thing that becoming an empty nester has taught me is that you have to fill your time meaningfully.  Not always, sure watch that TV show, etc.. but find the time to cultivate your spirit and soul. This was and is a tough lesson that I am still learning to this day.  Find that reason for gratitude each day and let it set the tone for your day’s soil.  I promise you, it will come back.  It may take some time, watering and fertilizing but the returns will come and you will bloom like a glorious and fragrant flower.  I leave you with these words, “Sometimes the bravest and most important thing that you can do is just show up.”  Brene Brown.

Source: Make Your Bed William McRaven

My books are on Amazon!

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot

Clean it Up!  Wash it Up!

Coming soon:

Appalachian Allegory

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk

The Gift of Kintsugi

 

Kintsugi.  Is it not gorgeous? Each crack in this dish is filled with gold.

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Kintsugi

“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."

Dolly Parton

Imperfections.

Cracks.

Hurt.

Regret.

Solace, Anger, Joy, and things we just can’t forget.

They make cracks and crevices in our heart and soul.

Sometimes they make it hard to breathe.

The pain tears at our soul. 

What if there was something we could do about it?

Perhaps, heal the pain?

By filling in the cracks with forgiveness and healing.

It will make our heart beat again.

Take those cracks, use them, don’t let them cause you to fall apart.

Rather, fill in those cracks with forgiveness and change your heart. 

Forgiveness, love, healing and light. 

Make those cracks gold, make them sparkle with delight.

Those cracks show that you made it and did not give up.

They did not cause you to weaken, you stayed the course. 

Rather than hide those cracks show them like gold. 

Make your struggles through adversity show others you are strong and bold. 

I feel this today... My right knee is bursitis ridden... Teaching kickboxing for 10 years will do that. Most days it's fine. Today, it is swollen and it hurts. I chose to get up and keep going with a little Kintsugi. I walked a little slow but that's okay. 

We get up, we fall down, we have regrets. That is part of the human condition. In our society where perfection is a filter away, would it not be better to be filled with gold in those cracks that life has dealt us? Have you ever heard of Kintsugi? It is a process used in Japan to fill in the cracks of broken pottery.  The pottery is mended with a lacquer mixed with silver, gold, or platinum.  Basically, by filling in these cracks that could potentially break the pottery, it highlights the cracks rather than hides them.  Why should something be thrown away when it can be mended by these precious colors? If you are a person of faith, I often envision God's forgiveness is much like Kintsugi. We have those imperfections there, but through God's grace he fills them with gold through his almighty forgiveness. Have you ever heard of wabi-sabi?  This concept embraces the flawed and imperfect.  Wabi sabi understands that we are imperfect. These cracks, these imperfections highlight the story of our lives.  They made us who we are.  We are still here, probably still struggling... but in time with work, prayer, meditation, and sheer will we can go on.  We can stand with those cracks in gold, silver or platinum. Kintsugi means: Golden joinery.  In our time where everything is quickly disposable, kintsugi can teach us that those flaws can show much, much more. To add to that concept, also our world makes everything perfect via social media filters.  Which honestly, is still imperfect.  Those cracks are not signs of disgrace but rather… healing.  Those cracks can be going on despite the obstacles.  Those cracks could be having a will of iron in the face of adversity.  Those cracks could be broken family relationships.  Recently I read a little story about a boy who went by a shop a long time ago. He saw in the window a sign that said:  “Puppies for sale.”  Now I don’t know about you, but who can’t love a little puppy.  The little boy walked in and inquired about the puppies.  The shop owner came out with the kennel and the puppies came bounding out with all their energy.  In the very back came the last little puppy who was limping.  At first, the little boy asked how much the puppies were, the owner told him that they were $20.  He had a little frown because he only had about $2 in his pocket.  The limping little puppy finally caught his attention.  The little boy asked if he could buy that puppy.  The owner looked perplexed.  "That puppy is lame, he won’t ever be able to walk or run with you.  I will give him to you for free. " After thinking for just a moment the little boy blurted out, “I will pay you two dollars today and fifty cents every month until this puppy is paid for!”  The shop owner who was quite perplexed said, “Why?”  The little boy lifted up his pant leg and showed him his leg brace and crippled leg.  “I can’t run and play fast either and that puppy is worth just as much as the others.”  After reading that story I immediately thought of Kintsugi.  We all have worth, it may be hard to see at times….. Really hard. Through God’s grace and forgiveness and our forgiveness of others and… forgiveness of yourself.  Fill those cracks with gold.  They show you had the tenacity to not quit.  

Source: thoughtcatalog.com

My books are on Amazon!

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot

The Case of the Missing Moo-Cow Bell

The Case of the Missing Bumbly Wumbly Bee

The Case of the Missing Wellies

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk

The Case of the Missing Ornaments

Clean it Up! Wash it Up!

Coming soon!

Appalachian Allegory: A Southern Novel

Buy me a coffee… pretty please… actually it would be a proper cuppa in my case. Thank you for reading! 

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