Creating Your Own Future

There has been a lot of learned philosophical discourse about how much of a say we have in creating our own futures. I’m not going to add to that dialogue. Instead, let’s approach it simply and practically.

In January of this year, my wife and I took a big bag of wildflower seeds and, along with our two Australian shepherds, ventured down the steep slope in back of our Austin home. It’s fairly rocky soil and nothing much grows there that isn’t native and hardy. I raked to prepare the hard ground, my wife scattered the seeds, the dogs barked excitedly and that was that. 

Today, a few months later, we have a variety of beautiful Texas wildflowers to enjoy—a gift from nature that brightens the view and speaks in a silent language that somehow communicates directly to the human heart.

This was quite a simple exercise, but in a small way, didn’t the action we took in January come back to us in the future? It got me to wondering how many of the actions we take every day actually work to create the future that we experience either sooner or at some time later.

In our example, we planted seeds and ended up with flowers. But what if instead of seeds we applied weedkiller? Would nature give us lovely flowers in return? What if I were short tempered with a colleague who interrupted my work? Wouldn’t that be a seed I’d planted? What would grow as a result?

As mentioned, there has been a great deal of speculation about the reciprocal nature of things. The Golden Rule is a case in point, and similar ideas existed in ancient China, Egypt, Greece, Rome and India.

Maybe being told to follow a rule—even a golden one—isn’t the answer. Perhaps we just have to work it out for ourselves. Our daily lives are filled with opportunities to choose. Do the choices we make improve our world and our quality of life?

We’ve now been covering stories about inspiring people in Organic Connections for over six years, and I’m more convinced than ever that individuals can change the world. The idea keeps me optimistic.

I’d be interested to know what you think. Email me at [email protected].

Publisher