Growth

We're having early spring here in Prescott because we pretty much haven't had winter. The plants are taking a chance and trees have budded and flowering trees are blooming. If we do get a winter blast, they're all in trouble. I have started my seeds for tomatoes and herbs to plant in the garden later and so my thoughts have turned to growth and new beginnings.

Plants have to take their cues from what the weather is doing. Among other things, that means if the weather is unseasonably warm, they grow early. If unseasonably cold (like in the first decades of the 1800s), they may grow late or not at all. They don't have a choice.

After you get beyond toddler stage, people have a choice about growth. Toddlers go through the stage where they start to make their own decisions which is why they can be so frustrating. Why and No are their common responses. They are learning to judge whether or not they want to do any particular activity, including eating, sleeping, trying new things. While they are continuing to grow, they are at the start of the time when they can influence how much and how far they grow based on their choices.

Many adults choose to stop growing. They do the bare minimum to get by with very few growth opportunities. They plant themselves in front of a screen, whether computer, tablet, phone or television, and are entertained. We looked through a number of houses in an open house event a couple of weeks ago. None of the homes had any books displayed, not even magazines, and at least half were still lived in. To me, that suggests that they are not really reading. I know the younger generation can do all its reading online (I do a lot of that), but these homes were not owned by people online. Only one had Internet access (at least based on equipment in the homes) so they weren't online. Although much of my reading is novels, they still offer challenges to my way of thinking.

I subscribe to a number of RSS feeds, which are automatic updates from a variety of news sources. This exposes me to headlines although I don't have to read the stories, unlike the television news when my options are to turn down the sound or change the channel. Since I do read the headlines, I have some idea of what's happening around the world because I have chosen many international news sources as well as the domestic ones. I may not like what I see, but I know I need to be aware of it since it can impact my life.

I have had a very meandering career path including: savings unit manager, piano and guitar teacher, dance teacher, school music teacher, paralegal, IT network manager, corporate Email manager, IT training, database administrator, process engineer, product manager, business unit manager, corporate secretary, business owner, buyer and merchandiser, and personal assistant. I have enjoyed all of them, but this was not a path that I would have charted in college but each change made sense and provided numerous growth opportunities. I am currently working as a personal assistant for the Pro, working as the buyer and merchandiser for the golf pro shop, providing technical and marketing assistance to him. I would never have believed that I would be doing this twenty years ago, but now it makes perfect sense.

Many of the news feeds I get concern health. These have convinced me to make changes in my lifestyle and diet. This is a different kind of growth and challenge. It means new foods and new ways of cooking. I feel like new seeds were planted, just like I have done for my garden, and they are beginning to sprout. I look forward to seeing the growth that results from these. I know that I feel better physically as a result of these changes and I am guessing that at least some of the joy I am currently experiencing is also a result.

The opposite of growth is death and stagnation. I see people who are going through the motions of living. I say it is going through the motions because the only growth in their lives is in disease. They have given up stretching their brains and their muscles. While death is inevitable, stagnation is not. The motto Carpe Diem is a great one. If we seize the day, we are choosing growth and life and not death and stagnation. So, Carpe Diem and reap the benefits of a full harvest.