The time for planting seeds is fast approaching. Just last night, a good friend gave me a selection of carefully curated seeds. A few seeds of several varieties of tomatoes, cukes, peppers and squash were lovingly placed into bright, multi-colored envelopes and labeled with a quality of penmanship I can’t help but envy. The seeds came along with a catalogue that describes their qualities and optimal growing conditions. This gift of promise fills me with anticipation and hopefulness of what we will discover when these seeds germinate and grow. In all honesty, I do not plant seeds (not literally, anyway), but my wife does. I am merely the courier of these tiny holders of the future. I like to think I have played a small part in the endeavor, however, which I will continue as I wait and watch, celebrate and mourn what nature (and my wife’s loving care) does with these small offerings.

This time of year, I am more aware that we are always seeding the future (metaphor alert). Whether we are aware of it or not, we are making choices about what seeds we are carrying forward (versus leaving behind), what seeds we are planting (versus storing or discarding) and whether or not we are cultivating the optimal conditions for their flourishing. The seeds that grow will be the ones that we have chosen to sow. Seeds that remain in the envelopes unused will never become the vegetables or flowers we hope to reap in the harvest. Seeds that we halfheartedly plant or neglect will struggle, and if they make it, it will be in spite of us.

When we consider the current state of the world, our country, our local community, our organizations, our families, our individual lives … we might do well to ask ourselves, “What seeds are we planting right now?” Whether you are the type of gardener that charts out rows and neatly labels your veggies with little sticks or a free-spirit tosser-outer of seeds, it matters what seeds you use. You can’t grow a pumpkin from an apple seed or an olive tree from the seed of a sunflower. Likewise, we can’t grow peace, love and justice from the seeds of hatred, cynicism and division. If we want a world characterized by justice and equity, we have to plant and carefully nurture the seeds of justice and equity.

This year is already shaping up to be a doozy in terms of political rhetoric and polarizing theater. If you see this and want to shake your head in despair, that’s understandable. Do that for a minute (it’s important to feel what we feel), but then start thinking about what kind of seeds you want to plant for a better community and world. If we want conversations that are less polarized, why not plant the seeds of compassion and understanding in our own hearts? If we want there to be more harmony and less discord in our inevitable disagreements, let’s sow the seeds of unity and tend them with love and care. Discord is not a natural outgrowth of difference.

I’m imagining my friend at her kitchen table spread out with catalogues, seeds and the materials to individually label and wrap them. What if we did something similar with the seeds of kindness, empathy, mutual respect, humor, joy? We are creating the future whether we are doing it with intention or not, so why not do it with intention?

The Rev. Dr. Kharma R. Amos is the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick, uubrunswick.org.

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