There’s no fruit without there first being a seed.

The man on the corner by one of Swanage’s many pubs proudly wore a T-Shirt with just two words: “Bad Seed.” I think he thought it was funny. I didn’t.

I want to sow “Good Seed” during this season of goodwill to all. The whole World knows we need this.

Specifically, I’d love, along with you, to play our part in growing the traditional seasonal fruits of hope, joy, peace, and love (or ‘charity’ if you like old-fashioned version!) Reminds me of the three angels I had branded with a spelling error: Faith, Love, and Hop. I kid you not. I’d like to have been ‘Hop’.  Have you tried skipping lately? It’s liberating. Children do it all the time… naturally… freely. Be childlike today.

How do we sow seeds of hope? Hope is always to do with the future – so anytime we can make anyone feel better about their future, we’ve sown seeds of hope. Paint a picture in people’s imaginations of a brighter better tomorrow.

How do we sow seeds of joy? I think Spike Milligan had the right idea:

“Smiling is infectious,

you catch it like the flu,

When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too.”

[The full poem can be read here: https://noc-events.co.uk/sites/conference.noc.ac.uk/files/documents/Smile%20-%20By%20Spike%20Milligan.pdf but be careful, it’s contagious.]

Stick a grin on your chin, and see who says, “Hey, I’m ‘in’!”

How do we sow seeds of peace? That’s the answer to a big Nobel prize-winning question! Maybe it’s as simple as always looking for what we share in common with others? I watched, “Derry Girls,” for the first time this year. It was a profound experience, highlighting the humour and the tension of the troubles in Northern Ireland. In one particularly touching episode the way to peace was by finding that common ground.

And, finally, and perhaps most importantly, how do we sow seeds of love? I think that’s the easiest question to answer. Those of us who want more friendship must show ourselves to be friendly. We, very generally speaking, reap what we sow – that’s the way of Nature. What does, ‘’being shown love,” mean to you? Once you can answer that, go and do that for or to someone else. 

Maybe, just maybe, we’re all about to have a very good day indeed!

Lex

A Moodscope member