planting seeds
Monday, July 25, 2011 at 10:14AM 
One of my writing teachers once told me when I asked her how one knows what direction to go in, what to pursue in life, "You just plant seeds and see what grows."
I've been following her advice through the years and have found it to be one of the simplest and easiest ways to live. Interested in too many disparate things? No problem-- just send out your seeds and see what sprouts.
Some examples: interested in travel writing? Go ahead and apply. Interested in grad school? Same thing. Also interested in running a little cafe? Start writing a business plan. I know it sounds like you then get spread too thin and maybe don't do anything that well, and that risk certainly exists. But! Sometimes it works, too. And you get this amazing set of life experiences because of it.
I think dumb luck has something to do with it, too, but I am so glad I went after all of the seemingly impossible things I tried and don't regret any of it. I crashed and burned lots of times, but I've always given 100%.
Because of this philosophy, I've gotten to work for an NGO in Geneva focused on agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, work for an advertising company in Cape Town that was filled with some of the most creative people I've ever met, be an actor in a Steven Spielberg film opposite Leonardo di Caprio, graduate from Harvard, be a paid travel writer for Let's Go and accepted as a staff writer for the Rough Guides, backpack around the world for a year, and open a little coffee shop committed to serving both the best coffee and freshly baked cupcakes and treats but also to being nice about it/making gourmet accessible to all, displaying local artists' work and hopefully supporting grassroot community projects once we get off the ground.
I'm working on my second novel now, and it's taking a long time, but I just consider it part of the process. In the meantime, I'm opening a little cafe that will open a week from today. If you keep on plugging away at your dreams, eventually, you make progress in all fronts. It's like cleaning a bit of your living room one day, your kitchen the next, your bedroom the next-- as long as you keep at it eventually, everything gets cleaned. Unless you're a total slob. (So, moral of the story: don't be a slob. And keep on cleaning.) :-)
Yes, my resume looks like I'm on crack, leaping from one industry to another, but I am passionate about many things, and I don't see why I'd have to follow a linear trajectory just because others prescribe it. For me, a successful life is one full of passion and creativity, full of adventures and amazing life experiences, and I don't want to be boxed in or labeled.
Now that I'm in my 30s, I'm mellowing out and settling down a bit. But, given my restlessness and insatiable curiosity in my 20s, there's no way I'd be at peace now if I hadn't tried everything I was curious about. I'd always wonder, 'What if?' And who wants a life of 'What if?' when you can have a life of 'I tried'? Even if you crash and burn, which is inevitable in the creative and/or competitive fields, you'll always be able to say you gave it a full-hearted shot.
And you don't know if you really like something until you try doing it. So, what is your dream life? What are you doing to make it happen? Planting seeds gives you the excuse to say, "I'm just trying it out." But you have to at least try.
Dreams evolve over time-- what I thought I'd love often turned out to be unappealing once I was actually in it (politics and acting come to mind), but that's how you fine-tune your dreams. Try it, see if you still love it, tweak it, try more things-- and just keep pushing forward, planting seeds wherever your heart leads you, and then, when you lie on your death bed, you'll be able to look back and say, "Wow, what a life I created."
Okay, stepping off soapbox now. Thanks. Hope it helps you on your creative journey. :-)
Reader Comments (2)
your posts always rejuvenate me when i need rejuvenation the most!
aww, thanks. :-)