NURTURE THE GOOD YOU NOTICE

When it comes to the seeds we hope to sow in our lives and things that we are hoping will grow, it can be easy to forget about the seeds that we have already sown, that are already growing, even if we haven't seen them bloom above the soil yet.

Here are some places to look in your life that may have started to grow but they might be hard to notice because their growth is more subtle right now. These things are worth paying attention to and watering, for they will only continue to grow with time.

Seeds that have already started to grow:

Maybe you've noticed you're not as hard on yourself for not knowing everything. There's a kind of peace in accepting that learning is ongoing.
Perhaps, your circle might be small, but you're starting to realize that in this season of your life it's right for you. You are realizing that making quality connections with others is something that can change and evolve with time.
You find moments of quiet in a day more enjoyable. These moments might be brief, but you're noticing them and actively seeking them out, realizing that this is something you can build upon.
Even if you're still figuring out how to be more open about it, there's a possibility that you're learning how to express your needs. If you're in an environment that often puts a lot of focus on keeping up with the fast pace of things and not going beyond the surface level, naming your needs feels like an incredibly vulnerable act. So when you are able to take the time to practice expressing your needs as something worth making more space for, you are growing in your capacity to focus on what matters most.
You're starting to notice shifts in how you react to certain things. You're starting to realize that some things drain your energy more than others, and you're beginning to evaluate what can be moved around so that you can focus on what matters most.
You're beginning to notice connections between different ideas or concepts you've had stirring for a while. You don't know how it's all going to come together yet, but you're more open to trying out new ways of sharing what's been stirring inside of you. It takes great courage to do this, but you're thinking about it more.
You might find that you're less concerned about certain aspects of external validation. Maybe you can think back to some standard you used to try to meet many years ago, and you're starting to find peace in realizing you don't have to aim for that anymore. You're still learning how to be you in the space you're in right now, but knowing what you don't want to do anymore has also been an important step.
You do not have to have perfected these kinds of things to begin to realize that, like a new plant springing up from beneath the ground, this is something small but worth paying attention to with attentiveness, gentleness, and care. It's easy to overlook the progress of seeds already sown in our lives, as their growth can be subtle, but recognizing nurturing these areas of subtle growth is a way to continue to nurture attentiveness, practice gentleness, and foster care in the important areas of your life.

And even if you do not feel like you are experiencing the small, subtle growth of these kinds of things at all, learning how to notice what small growth looks like can be helpful in starting to pursue this because now you know that you don't have to experience big, radical growth to began to notice beautiful, healing change in life. 

Let this season teach you that small, subtle growth is valuable and a sign of beautiful, healing change. Since small growth is something you can build on, nurturing what is good that is already taking root becomes something you can practice as you become more aware of it in your life.

Let this be a season that small, subtle growth becomes a sign of healing change taking root in your life. As you see these subtle shifts, nourish them with care. Celebrate small growth. Nurture the good you notice.

More in this week's series called "Exploring What's Possible", only with a subscription in the Storyteller App.

More tomorrow…
Sincerely,
Morgan Harper Nichols
@thestorytellerco
@morganharpernichols