Hello Friends :) Sumer here
For this month I would like to share a story one of my teachers (Jack Kornfield) recently told me. It's by a children's author named Arnold Lobel.
It's simply about gardening... or is it?
Grab a cuppa and enjoy x
The Story of Frog and Toad
Frog was in his garden one day. Toad walked by and said, "What a very fine garden you have there Frog".
Frog said,"Thank you, but it was a lot of hard work".
"I wish I had a garden" said Toad
"Here are some flower seeds" says Frog, "plant them in the ground and soon you too will have a garden".
"How long?" asked Toad
"Quite soon" said Frog
So Toad ran home... he planted the flower seeds...
"Now seeds" said Toad "start growing!"
Toad walked up and down the rows a few times... the seeds did not start to grow...
Toad put his head down by the ground and said loudly "Okay seeds, start growing"
Toad looked down at the ground again... the seeds did not start to grow...
Toad put his head very close to the ground and shouted "SEEDS START GROWING!"
Frog came running up the path "What's all this noise?" he asked
"My seeds will not grow" said Toad
"Your shouting too much Toad... your poor seeds are afraid to grow" said Frog
"My seeds are afraid to grow?" asked Toad
"Of course they are" said Frog "Leave them alone for a few days... let the sun shine on them... let the rain fall on them... soon your seeds will start to grow."
That night Toad looked out his window...
"Drat" said Toad, "my seeds have not yet grown... they must be afraid of the dark"
So Toad took some candles outside... "I will read you a story so you will not be afraid."
Toad read a very long story to his seeds...
The next day Toad sang songs to his seeds in the rain...
And all the next day Toad read poems to his seeds...
And all the next day Toad played music to his seeds...
Toad looked at the ground... the seeds still did not grow...
"What should I do?" said Toad. "These must be the most frightened seeds in the whole world."
Then Toad felt very tired and he fell asleep...
"Toad! Toad! Wake Up!" said Frog "Look at your garden!"
Toad looked at his garden... little green plants were coming up out of the ground...
"At last!" said Toad "My seeds have stopped being afraid and have started to grow!"
"And now you will have a nice garden too" said Frog
"Yes" said Toad "But you were right.... it was very hard work."
I love this story... and I love the lesson my teacher is teaching me by telling it...
Personally, it is so easy for me to be like Toad... seeking instant gratification and wanting things to happen quickly. Having to work soooo hard for something can have a big impact on how I feel about myself and the world around me...
However, we can agree that anything worth anything takes planting the seeds and tending the garden... and one day waking up to see the start of something beautiful.
Plant those seeds now my friends... put in the hard work to tend your garden... and watch it grow.
Sending love, light (and some rain)
Sumer x