When I was young, my teacher taught us how to plant a seed
We gathered together all the tools, and things that we would need
Some moist compost, to fertilise, and set the seed alive
A snug container, some water too, to help the seed to thrive.
We watched the seed for many days, and nothing seemed to change
Yet it had everything it needed, but still no growth, how strange!
We became bored of waiting, so we turned to other things
We played ball games, made daisy chains, threaded conkers onto strings.
And then one day, we saw a shoot, so vulnerable and small
It pushed up through the compost, and quickly became tall.
We had to find a bigger pot, it grew so big and strong
Eventually we planted it, in the garden where it belonged.
As years went by, I often thought, about that little seed
And how we cannot grow, if the conditions aren’t what we need.
I thought I had all I could ever want – a roof over my head
Clean water available to drink, some food, a cosy bed.
But we need so much more than this, we have so many needs to meet
We need to flourish, not just survive, if we’re to find our feet.
We need love and encouragement, we need true friends and support
We need to be able to be ourselves, and not sell ourselves short.
We need to feel that we belong, and have a role to play
We need to feel important in somebody else’s day.
We need to make our own decisions, follow a path that we have carved
We need all of these needs met, or emotionally we are starved.
We need one person with whom we can truly be ourselves
But privacy is also non-negotiable, or feelings of violation engulf.
We need human connection, but just the right amount
Too much or too little, can throw the whole thing out.
Our limiting beliefs, that voice that lives inside our head
Must be set down, if we’re to live a life of joy, not dread.
I learned all this, although it took, so very many years
It was a hard journey to go on, with frustrations, anger and fears.
As an adult I was outside one day, just digging in the soil
But the ground was unrelenting, it didn’t heed my toil.
I dug and dug until I ached, and broke out in a sweat
In frustration I threw down my spade, into the house I went.
I raged and cried, until I was calm, my breathing then did slow
A sense of peace descended as I felt a warming glow.
I realised the conditions were not right, for me to dig that day.
I should wait until the sun had come, to melt the frost away.
And that was when I understood, the lessons of my life,
That if the conditions are not right, I will always be in strife.
If I’m in the wrong environment, I will not self-actualise
And the life I wished so much to live, will simply pass me by.
If I seek to dig and plant a seed, in earth that’s not receptive
Then I’m wasting my own energy, when I should be self-protective.
We need to be more nurturing, and to ourselves be true
And that’s when all the good in life, will surely come to you.
Copyright, Emma Oldershaw, 2025
