“A person who sows the seed of kindness enjoys a perpetual harvest.”
(Author unknown)
“Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed.”
– Robert Schuller
This rather nondescript seedpod is the result of one of these blossoms and may contain who knows how many dozens of blossoms within it — if each of its five seeds is planted and cared for properly next season perhaps hundreds — and if all of those blossoms are allowed to set seed and all of those seeds planted… my, what a hummingbird feast that will be! Can you imagine it? The fields of darling red trumpets lifted up to the blue sky and all of those flashing iridescent wings in the sun, zooming noises as they zip here and there and chase one another, sometimes punctuating their pursuit with the most darling squeaks of fury as if to say “And stay out!”
There could be, over the course of many years, literally hundreds of thousands of blossoms dormant within this single seedpod.
A little while ago Christina over at Soul Aperture offered her readers the chance to participate in a pay-it-forward challenge begun by a friend of hers. The prize? A snail mail packet full of love and goodies from Christina, herself — and a chance to send more kindness out into the world!
I squealed with delight when I won, and F. said, “Let me get this straight. You get one gift and give away five more?” I just smiled at him and gave him a big hug and said, “But it makes me happy,” which seemed to be answer enough for him at the time. A large part of my joy, of course, was that the package was coming straight from Christina, whom I so admire for her beautiful words and gentle, soulful approach to life, not to mention the lovely images she shares on her blog.
But a lot of the excitement came from the idea of the pay-it-forward idea. I so like the idea of a single act spreading love and kindness well beyond its own boundaries. It reminds me of what a seed does.
The package came yesterday, a truly unexpected surprise that Paul, our mailman, delivered with a curious glance, hoping, I suppose, that I’d open it on the porch. (That job must be so frustrating to one’s natural curiosity.) It was filled with fabric and apple pie spice, a recipe on a beribboned card, sweet stationery, and one of Christina’s own prints (thrill!), and it honestly felt like a ray of sunshine and a soul-hug had tumbled out of the box. (Want to see it? Check out the other blog post. I try to keep the photos on this one garden-centered.)
So now I’m offering all of my readers on both blogs the chance to participate, too. If you want to receive a surprise in your mailbox from me, and the opportunity to pass on the loving kindness until the ripples of your act end up who knows where, warming someone’s heart, putting a smile on her face, then just leave a note in the comments section of this post saying as much.
I’ll choose five recipients from all of the commenters on both blog entries. And yes, this means you can double your chances by leaving a comment on both. If I don’t get five comments total, I’ll send the love to other friends. I’ve already been having such fun planning what I could send, ever since I found out I’d been selected, and I’ve got some pretty good ideas by now.
Oh, and by the way, there is no pressure here. The gifts may be small, and sent on with no hurry. Any pressure or deadlines would ruin the whole idea, which is that we send our acts of kindness into the world with love….
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