March limped in like a shivering lion here in East Tennessee… not much bluster, just spitting a few wet snowflakes to show us it still could! OK, we get it, can we have spring now?
The words for this week are NOURISH and NURTURE. I can’t quite seem to separate them. They come as a package deal, interwoven, kind of the Siamese twins of Word-dom.
When a person, idea, or thought is conceived it must be Nourished to sustain existence. We do whatever is necessary to assure a positive outcome. This seems very basic, almost mechanical. Once this well-nourished seed is alive and kicking, Nurture lovingly enters the scene. Nurturing feeds the soul: protecting, supporting, encouraging, and uplifting. It is rocking that baby with love, polishing that tarnished star to make it shine. It is sharing communion with unbounded joy, touching an empty heart. Nurturing can uncover hidden potential, giving it room to stretch and breathe.
A dear friend’s daughter unexpectedly found herself out of a teaching position at the end of school last year. As a wife and mother of three this could have been extremely traumatic. However she turned her thoughts to that seed which had been planted on her “someday list” and pursued, with intention, the dream of starting her own school. And start it she did, accomplishing what would have seemed impossible: the opening of an academy by the beginning of the school year. She took that seed, nourished it to life, then fine-tuned and nurtured it into a reality. As Anne Lamott would say…WOW!!!
If we take what we are given, nourish and nurture it with love and intention, we can be unlimited in our pursuit of tenderly carrying life forward.
“First you need only look: Notice and honor the radiance of Everything about you… Play in this universe. Tend All these shining things around you: the smallest plant, the creatures, and objects in your care. Be gentle and nurture. Listen…” Anne Hillman
With love,
Bonnie
I like this post. What strikes me here, in you story, is that the keeping of a dream, the seed that is planted in the “someday” list is also a form of nurturing, in the sense of feeding and protecting and holding that dream close to the heart, so that when the opportunity arises, one is able to nourish it and allow it to sprout and nurture it and allow it to grow strong.
I love to get your feedback! Thank you for taking the thought and time to digest our words this week…and you’ve given it an additional twist… the seed, even though it isn’t being used, has been planted and this is a form of protecting and nurturing.
Thanks Mardel.
WOW!!
I am so moved by your statements: “When a person, idea, or thought is conceived it must be Nourished to sustain existence. We do whatever is necessary to assure a positive outcome.” “Nurturing can uncover hidden potential, giving it room to stretch and breathe.” What powerful statements to live by. Thank you for your wisdom and love.
Thanks E.G. for your words! You are a wonderful Blog-Sistah!!!
Wonderful. “If we take what we are given, nourish and nurture it with love and intention,we can be unlimited in our pursuit of carrying life forward.” I think I might stick this statement on my makeup mirror if you do not mind?…… Another reinforcer to help me live without regret….
We have to “take what we are given” and nurture it. For me the big word is with “intention”. In our fast paced world full of constant stimulation, many “intentions” get procrastinated and then many time shuffled to those “other rooms” in our minds…well at least mine do, I am sorry to say.
On one of my Masters Degree in special education finals, I had to write about Nature vs. Nurture. Of course this question had to do with the nature of special needs children born with limitations and how we should nurture them to bring them to their fullest potential. Out of all the “educational stuff” from those years of college, this one question has stuck with me and popped to my forethoughts on occasion. We know how difficult it is for us to process the constant stimulation of the world. Just think how hard it must be for our brothers and sisters with limited mental resources let alone added physical issues. I can’t rememember how I answered the question, but just thinking about it in different situations as I taught gave me more balance I think and nurturing thoughts.
Thank you Bonnie for being one of my nurturer’s with the nourishment of your powerful words.
Donna
Hi Donna, Thank you for taking the time to really sift through for the nuggets! You are right, intention is the biggie! We are so driven by distraction in today’s electronic world… So much interference. You have added a new depth to the picture by bringing in those who are challenged mentally…. Thanks for your thoughts on this, they are truly appreciated.
Thank you, Bonnie. What struck me was the bit about “doing whatever is necessary to assure a positive outcome.” Hmm. . . what am I doing right now with my dream? Being fearful of how things will come out? Ready to abandon because things are not developing the way I thought? Hmm… pretty far from nurturing and nourishing>
What you’re doing about your dream is being “aware” of it…. and in that way you are holding it close and nourishing it…..as things fall into place the nurturing will be automatic…..We have to be reminded not to be “attached to the outcome” as we pursue our paths, no telling where exactly it is leading…..
Sistah of the 2nd Pew