Patience.

Watering the Soul reminds us to be patient with ourselves and our journey of growth. I found it a very comforting and heartwarming poem but at the same time, I felt a little sad once I saw the direction this was going in. In today’s hustle culture world, it’s so difficult to give yourself time to grow. People are raising seven year olds who can play Mozart’s “Piano Sonata No. 18”, trying to complete their degrees as fast as possible, become affluent in their twenties. We’ve forgotten what it is to truly “nurture the seed”. Sunlight is only available for a part of the day, so the seed needs countless days for the “forest [to] prosper”. However, we try and take shortcuts, feed our plant artificial sunlight at night so it takes less time, but then ultimately, we’re left with a forest less healthy, less prosperous, and one that will die quicker.  My goal not only for this semester but for these next few years is to simply bask in this sunlight, learn as much as I can, not as quick as I can. This is one of the reasons Siddhartha resonated with me so much. He sought enlightenment as a young adult, and only achieved it when his hair was gray and his skin wrinkled. If he decided to utilize the first teachers he saw, he still would have been a Brahmin under the false impression of enlightenment. The fact that he didn’t lose patience, didn’t give up solely because he had less time, is why self-actualization was possible for him. I too strive to carry this persistence despite the hustle culture around me, and take my time to pursue the actual goals I want to achieve without finding a “good enough” alternative. A short life fulfilled is better than a long one compromised. 

“If you treat your soul the same as a seed, then over time, slowly, your soul will become home to many beautiful things too.”

Despite the fact that our societal standards and culture change, our time will always remain the same. I don’t want to deprive myself of such a beautiful life following a trend.