#growth – startwithsparkles

Feedback

September 29, 2024 Rachel Ann1 Comment

As defined by Merriam-Webster, “the transmission of evaluative or corrective information about an action, event, or process to the original or controlling source, also: the information so transmitted.”

Feedback is a necessary component of growth, and therein resides the rub…growth can be painful or uncomfortable. A seed pushing forth beyond the soil, rising towards the sun, cares not for the speed at which it travels, but rather it continues to reach beyond what it could be capable of. Cue the theme song from the second movie in the franchise that is FROZEN, “Into the Unknown!” Does anyone else hear Idina Menzel’s voice singing now? You’re welcome, but I digress.

Feedback exists whether we appreciate it or not. The fact of the matter is this, we live as human beings within societies. Each of us plays a role within that community with a particular job, role within a home, or a family. The thing is we garner feedback as we tread through this life based upon the encounters we have with others.

If I had listened to all the feedback I received over my four decades here on Earth, I would surmise that I am too much of this or not enough for any person or area in life. The long and short of it is, unless you can magically transform into a type of seasoning that everyone utilizes on their food, take the Trader Joe’s “everything but the bagel” seasoning. It’s just not going to work. “Life’s too short to sweat the small stuff, kid,” my father would constantly say to me while growing up. If I had listened to others, I would have only laughed when I read the condensed version of the feedback on that list.

Feedback can be quite subjective to the owner of the thought itself. Consider the source, which I often found myself saying in my early adulthood. I harkened back to this while I spent twelve years in public education. If one considers the source, the root of an ideology, then perhaps one can utilize their own powers of deductive reasoning or, insert audible gasp, critical thinking skills that are all too often lacking in this current day and age of snapshot glances in time, and pundit professors on the palm ridden land of Tik-Tok university. There I go again, I digress.

If one can make a discernible source-credited reasonable statement regarding feedback for an individual, party, or country, then thankfully, living within a democratic society, they can openly share their critique, nay feedback.

What a gift.

What a blessing.

To say what one thinks.

To criticize.

To provide feedback.

The struggle that lies within discomfort is, in turn, a test, my friends. If you can continue to hold your roots, to continue to grow despite the resistance that the sky throws your way, there is the opportunity to see another day when you will surely bloom and grow. It is always a powerful stronghold to receive the flurries of feedback, opinions, and hate-spewed commentaries and continue to shine regardless.

See the truth behind the gray filled skies.

Light always has the power to pierce the darkness, even a single ray. Seek the light.

Seek humanity.

Fear not the feedback that dwells beneath the surface because if one’s roots are well planted, a weather shifting will not remove the plant.

Feedback is just that, information.

Seek the source, or, as the kids say, ask for receipts. Take courage and be kind, but face the light and continue to grow.

Small Gifts

April 11, 2024 Rachel Ann1 Comment

I wait each winter for the unfurling of spring. The relentless heartiness of the crocus before it bursts through the ground, piercing the soil before unveiling its color in the sunshine and snow. Much the same one of the first tulips of spring brings me just as much joy.

I planted three bulbs in a small garden bed built by hand, a loving husband indeed, and these three bulbs planted over a decade ago have now brought forth thirty-two blooms this year. What a magical gift indeed. The little hashgacha pratit flowers are my divine providence from the earth itself. Staying winter, the fits of spring reveal themselves to us. There is something about a garden: no matter how grand or minuscule it may be, it is a gift of abundance with a mystery of life embedded underneath the soil.

As a child, I waited for the first buds on the Sitka rose bush to bloom. Once the snow melted, I checked them daily until they began to bud and bloom. They reminded me of staying the course in the darkest days. These plants are examples of change in our gardens, but their presence remains unyielding.

We must thank the gardeners of this planet, the tillers of the soil, the finders of renewable energy, and the ones who tend the gardens quietly and patiently, nurturing the blooms to bud.

My garden reflects my mental state. It is parched or overwatered, gently wedded and abundant in growth, and overgrown and ripe with fruits that spill from vines. Much like the ebb and flow of the seasons, I feel as they change and we continue to grow. What a blessing to be a witness and a tiller of the Earth.

Blooms

March 25, 2020 Rachel AnnLeave a comment

Spring came upon us in the midst of the crisis that lingers world wide today. Our world is blooming while we seemingly are distancing. What can all of this mean? Perhaps an analogy of spring itself is one way to consider the current situation human beings find themselves in.

A small bud rises forth from the growth of leaves that surround it. It is this bud that brings color, hope, and joy to the viewer. Mother nature herself has been flourishing while we wait and give space to ourselves and others. Consider the following: Color has now returned in waters unseen for decades, foliage is beginning to grow where earth was once scorched, wildlife is returning to waters uncharted by creatures for years, because of human activity being ceased. Perhaps all of this brings forth a deeper meaning: when we are able to still our minds, still our activities, and focus inwards growth does transpire. I ask myself, what truly can grow with a bit of nurture each day?

Ask yourself, when was the last time you watched a plant grow? I formed the habit with my son to stop and talk to our plants and flowers every day. As silly as it sounds, after a year of doing this he will now go up to plants and say hello on his own. I chose to make this a priority in our home and environment because what better way to foster an appreciation for what helps you as a to human bloom? Our plants are the providers of oxygen, beauty, and food. Here are some recent photographs of nature in our midst from our morning and a song of beauty to inspire your inner and outer day.