Planting seeds is both a physical act and a metaphor used frequently to describe an idea that can initiate something new in our lives. When I was teaching high school science, I often thought of my work as planting the seeds of curiosity, fascination, and knowledge about the natural world. I was aspiring to nurture the growth of my students as individuals, for that is what I believe is the true purpose of education.

One thing that astounded me was how few of my students reached the high school level without understanding what a seed really is. What? I would ask, you never sprouted seeds when you were in elementary or middle school? Warning rant coming: Currently, there is so much focus on reading and math at the younger ages that science is often overlooked. We have the false idea that math and science are hard, and that isn’t the case if we help youngsters to do it (see I didn’t say learn, because science is all about the doing) while they are young. Science is the pinnacle of cross curricular teaching opportunities because you are incorporating reading, writing, history, and math along with nurturing imagination, questioning skills, problem solving, and curiosity. Too often students arrived in my classroom lacking those skills because somewhere along the way the joy of learning had been lost. Fixing this problem will take time, a total rethinking of methodology and curriculum, and funds to help train teachers and get the necessary materials for the classroom. Rant over.

If you don’t know the anatomy of a seed, let me give you a quick lesson. A seed contains an embryonic plant complete with a root, stem, and shoots (leaves). Along with that there is a supply of food to feed that plant as it grows underground (that’s why seeds are such good food sources for us - where do you think flour comes from?) since it can’t start photosynthesizing (making its own food utilizing the energy of the sun to drive the necessary chemical reactions) until it has broken through the top of the soil. All of this is packaged inside a protective seed coat. A seed doesn’t need soil or sun to start growing, it requires water and the right temperature to sprout. Once it does sprout it will then need soil or a hydroponic set up for it to set down roots for support and the gathering of nutrients and water, and as mentioned previously sunlight for energy and air to provide carbon dioxide to produce its food, and oxygen to use that food for growth same as we humans do.

Seeds are magical. Let’s talk about the metaphorical side of things. We all have the seed of an idea. We often use the word kernel, which is just another word for seed, since the corn kernels on the cob are the corn plants seeds. Take a moment to remember some of those things in your life that started out as a mere thought. Maybe you got really excited about it, but the more you thought about it you began to doubt that it was such a good idea and maybe you moved away from that idea. But maybe that thought kept coming back and nudging you. You gave it time to grow a bit more. You started plotting and planning. You wrote up a pros and cons list. You did research on the Internet. You asked knowledgeable people questions. You became so wrapped up in this idea that you decided to manifest it into reality.

My seeds watered and placed in a warm and sunny spot - now time to wait

Your Idea = embryonic plant,
Research and planning = food source,
Making the decision to progress = seed coat.

The idea of starting my own business percolated around in my mind for years. As with a physical seed, my idea coalesced into a real thing. Granted, my ultimate goal may be to one day have my own store front, but I’ve taken the first steps. Starting a business isn’t as easy as putting a few seeds in soil and waiting for them to sprout. Stay tuned for my next installment because there’s more to growing a business than just having the seed of an idea.

Planting the Seed - Part 1 What are Seeds?

Starting Over

Emerging from Hibernation