How Much Will You Grow Today?

image created by siouxsie

A blade of grass will grow a day's growth in a day's time.  

Almost three and half months ago, my sister sent me a link to a talk by a man named Father Joseph Martin. It's called Recovery and the Family. This beautiful man died in 2009. Read his NY Times obit here.

Today, after acting on the advice I gave myself yesterday (Keep it Scientific, Sweetie!) by going for a run with my daughter (via iPhone!), I found myself with a transformed mindset. I woke this morning, as I often do, from a disturbing dream and was feeling depressed. After my run, I was energized, not just from the physical exertion, but from the stimulating conversation with my daughter.

Feeling thus armed with enthusiasm and resolve, I attacked my email inbox. It has been many months since I could claim inbox zero, and I wanted to at least move in that direction. The oldest email in my inbox was the talk by Father Martin.

My beloved son is in recovery, which means that our entire family is in recovery. This speech has been nagging at me to listen to is. But it is 78 minutes long. Aargh! Who has 78 minutes to listen to a speech? That's not really the question, is it. The question is, who will take 78 minutes to listen to a speech? The answer is, ME. Many things Father Martin said spoke to me deeply, but the first one was his statement about the blade of grass.

If a blade of grass will grow a day's growth in a day's time, and I'm the blade of grass, I must use each precious minute of the day to effect that growth as well as I can. 

My blade of grass illustration above took me about 45 minutes to complete. I don't claim to be an artist, and using the bamboo pad is difficult for me as a left-handed writer. But I wanted to create something, even if it's rudimentary. So, I present to you the gift of my first self-created electronic image. Go, grass, GROW today! Grow this day's growth in this day's time.

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