This is what I needed as I'm currently in the planting season.
I was blurred by the illusion of what I was seeing, so I sat and waited for harvest instead of focusing on cultivating my soil of inner work and planting more seeds of self-expression.
Thank you soo much. Your other "Forget about adding value" article is also super valuable to me.
this was perfect and exactly the time i needed to hear it i just reached 50 subscribers it feels weird to have people listen and enjoy my work but i need to embrace the love
I really enjoyed this piece Benjamin. This line in particular was great: "We associate winter with dormant death. But it is in death that life begins."
This death truly is a beginning we seem to overlook.
I was thinking while reading this, that quick, instant, viral and apparently amazing growth reads very much like quick, instant, apparently amazing crops - pretty on the outside, but artificial and nutrient lacking on the inside. When everything is too perfect, too ideal, too formulaic, it's dodgy at best.
Real growth is irregular, imperfect, non-linear. What works this year isn't what will work next year because the conditions are different. The soil is different. To grow is to constantly listen and adapt to these changes. To be in tune, and to evolve with nature, not try to override its natural rhythms.
Lots of food for thought! :) wishing you a lovely and slow weekend.
I needed to read this today, thank you! I am always a bit down immediately after a new post goes out as the engagement is never as I'd hoped. But things always turn out similarly - as the days pass, I stop worrying, and sometimes posts a month or even older generate a bit of engagement. Then I get a new idea, I become super excited to share it, and the cycle repeats.
It is exhausting at times but in the end, I always want to come back to writing and this is what matters most! Even after a year here I still feel in the experimental phase, so it is only fair that I've just planted the seeds :)
I taught myself to garden a few years ago and now I grow a massive garden. I never thought I could but I kept learning. Great connections to writing. I needed this read today and I'm saving it for when I'm in those summers. Thank you!
That all does sound lovely —Biodynamic? I’ll have to look that up.
We didn’t have cows, but my Dad had chickens and a goose a ways out behind the house when we were in our teens and not home as much. They would have been fun when we were younger. They weren’t free range which would have been great, but the foxes got them even in the pen.
We had an acre and a half garden—we all worked in it whether we wanted to or not. It also contained strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and rhubarb.
My Dad had a small orchard of about 10-15 apple trees and an apricot tree. My Mom canned at least 800 quarts every season.
My mother had a vegetable garden. The produce last us for most of the year and it was all biodynamic so free of pesticides, among other things. We also had chickens cows and geese at one point which was lovely.
I dig a good metaphor, and you've really sown the seeds of thought with this one! Thyme and patience truly are the key to a blooming garden, especially when you're not sure if what you've planted will take root. But even the most unlikely ideas can sprout into something beautiful if you invest enough care into them.
Embracing the process is the only way we can enjoy the writing journey. I really like the analogy and how you drew relations between seasons and the process of harvesting. It puts into perspective the amount of groundwork necessary to see those results marketed as quick successes in order to sell the outcome instead of the process. Thank you for this post.
This is beautiful. What a great reminder that good things take time. Thank you for sharing this 🤍
Thanks for reading Melissa. 🙏
This is what I needed as I'm currently in the planting season.
I was blurred by the illusion of what I was seeing, so I sat and waited for harvest instead of focusing on cultivating my soil of inner work and planting more seeds of self-expression.
Thank you soo much. Your other "Forget about adding value" article is also super valuable to me.
Yeees. Love that you kept the analogy going 😃
this was perfect and exactly the time i needed to hear it i just reached 50 subscribers it feels weird to have people listen and enjoy my work but i need to embrace the love
Yes exactly. That’s why a slow start is actually better (in my opinion) too much attention can be overwhelming
I really enjoyed this piece Benjamin. This line in particular was great: "We associate winter with dormant death. But it is in death that life begins."
This death truly is a beginning we seem to overlook.
I was thinking while reading this, that quick, instant, viral and apparently amazing growth reads very much like quick, instant, apparently amazing crops - pretty on the outside, but artificial and nutrient lacking on the inside. When everything is too perfect, too ideal, too formulaic, it's dodgy at best.
Real growth is irregular, imperfect, non-linear. What works this year isn't what will work next year because the conditions are different. The soil is different. To grow is to constantly listen and adapt to these changes. To be in tune, and to evolve with nature, not try to override its natural rhythms.
Lots of food for thought! :) wishing you a lovely and slow weekend.
Thank you Maria. That’s an interesting point and I think I would agree. That’s why I try to go for natural whole foods when I can
As someone just starting out on this writing journey, I found this to be poignant, profound and practical. Thank you. 🙏
Thanks Deb. 🙏😀
I needed to read this today, thank you! I am always a bit down immediately after a new post goes out as the engagement is never as I'd hoped. But things always turn out similarly - as the days pass, I stop worrying, and sometimes posts a month or even older generate a bit of engagement. Then I get a new idea, I become super excited to share it, and the cycle repeats.
It is exhausting at times but in the end, I always want to come back to writing and this is what matters most! Even after a year here I still feel in the experimental phase, so it is only fair that I've just planted the seeds :)
Exactly. Sometimes they just take off and sometimes they lie dormant in the soil wanting to sprout.
Great content! The gardening metaphor resonates a lot. Also makes me think that striving for variety makes sense and not just more of the same.
I think that’s key yes
Such a hard but important truth for every creative to hear!
Thanks, yes hard truths are often the truest truths
I so appreciated this! Thank you, Benjamin!
Thanks Rebecca, glad it helped
I truly appreciate reading this
Thank you. Glad to hear it :)
Love this analogy on growth! I have indoor plant babies that I care for and (one day) will have my own garden, so this resonated with me 🌱
That’s great. I have herbs on my balcony which I love. The smell of lavender and thyme is Delish
This is a great piece.
Thank you Cornelia. I appreciate it
I taught myself to garden a few years ago and now I grow a massive garden. I never thought I could but I kept learning. Great connections to writing. I needed this read today and I'm saving it for when I'm in those summers. Thank you!
Thanks Katie. Gardening is such an important skill and in many ways a lost art. As is writing ✍️
Makes sense to me! I grew up in the vegetable garden! Now, to apply it to writing…Thank you!
So I'm not the only one who grew up on him grown veg?😉
That all does sound lovely —Biodynamic? I’ll have to look that up.
We didn’t have cows, but my Dad had chickens and a goose a ways out behind the house when we were in our teens and not home as much. They would have been fun when we were younger. They weren’t free range which would have been great, but the foxes got them even in the pen.
We had an acre and a half garden—we all worked in it whether we wanted to or not. It also contained strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and rhubarb.
My Dad had a small orchard of about 10-15 apple trees and an apricot tree. My Mom canned at least 800 quarts every season.
What’s your story?
My mother had a vegetable garden. The produce last us for most of the year and it was all biodynamic so free of pesticides, among other things. We also had chickens cows and geese at one point which was lovely.
I dig a good metaphor, and you've really sown the seeds of thought with this one! Thyme and patience truly are the key to a blooming garden, especially when you're not sure if what you've planted will take root. But even the most unlikely ideas can sprout into something beautiful if you invest enough care into them.
Embracing the process is the only way we can enjoy the writing journey. I really like the analogy and how you drew relations between seasons and the process of harvesting. It puts into perspective the amount of groundwork necessary to see those results marketed as quick successes in order to sell the outcome instead of the process. Thank you for this post.