RICH chapter 6 is about land. The word reminds me of a song about it being your land, and my land. We all live on land, no matter on what part of this earth we spend our days. Even water is on land. “Healthy water, air and land create a life-promoting triangle.”
Good soil. Rain. Sunshine. All part of a balanced atmosphere for growth.
I’m a country girl at heart. 🙂 When I hear the word land, the picture of green pastures, dotted with cattle-some resting under a tree…some ambling to the feed troughs…some heading to the back fields to graze. At the same time, I see rows and rows of harvest-ready soybeans or other crops, dust swirling as the combines comb the area collecting the bounty. Some of my favorite memories are in the back of huge trucks with the beans as the combines poured a steady flow turning to an ever sliding, always rolling hill of beans, to be weighed. To this day it’s a special trip to pass the old silos where my dad and my grandpa would let us join them during those harvest times. Even now, I love the smell of a freshly plowed field after a quick rain. I like the feel of rich soil between my fingers when planting a colorful flower, or fragrant herbs. Honestly I don’t have a huge garden, or live on a farm, but the memories make up part of who I am. Truthfully, not all farm smells are pleasant, but that’s the reality of life. Not all people are pleasant, either, but it takes all kinds of people to make up our lives.
I see people as soil. One may be hard and rocky. Not open to new ideas, or love, or other people. Some are thorny. Always grouchy, angry, or defensive. Some have no real ideas they cultivate for themselves, but only seem to follow other people rather than have their own plan and path. And some…well, SOME are rich soil. Fertile soil. Soil where one’s time is well spent in weeding out negative thoughts, or doubts of self, or non-belief in their calling. Some are like the bamboo tree that was watered and cared for every day for 5 years showing only very little growth. Suddenly, in the 5th year, it grows 80 feet tall in six weeks! This growth only happens because of the persistence of the one watering and caring for it the entire time. It takes belief, self-confidence, and faith. People are worth our time. Haven’t we been worth the time of someone? I’m so grateful for the time spent to plow, plant, and weed…fertilize and water into my life. Because of the time spent, good things will continue to grow. A country background gives me respect for the field-and for the farmer. Both are critical to the harvest. Both must care and be cared for, to produce. And both cannot produce without planting. What is worthwhile takes time. Are you putting in your time? Are you putting time into others? Do a soil check. Has someone spent time with you? Are you producing what was planted?
#RICH #TheRichWay #LAND