Seedlings of thought...
In nonconcrete life, one attribute of lasting value we have to offer others is planting seedlings of thought that grow to become thriving shoots. Usually we are unaware that we are doing so. When seedlings mature to cross-pollinate more thought, they become implanted in ways we didn't conceive of in our first abstraction. Whether planted in neatly irrigated rows or willy nilly in the wild, ideas start as ephemeral wisps that advance into concepts to become full blown ideas. Although some ideas do wither and die while others fertilize and grow, the real importance is thinking, journeying through the mind to uncover what has potential for harvesting.
Thoughts and ideas are to be shared, in the raw and fully formed. A good conversation is an exchange that generates growth in us and others. The medium doesn't necessarily matter. Whether it is face-to-face, verbal or in writing, occurs over a long period of time or in a matter of minutes, is usually irrelevant. It might arise in something seemingly obscure as a random exchange or an email on another subject but during that discourse one little line, perhaps only an aside to the originator, may create a small kernel that grows into a full grown vision for the recipient. It's significance is in reciprocation, since what others offer us, tills a rotation of crops of intellect.
Our only true legacy is how we influence others and how we use that capability and in turn how we are influenced by the ideas of others. Most often we're unaware of the sway we have with individuals or groups, we tend to minimize it, since we're looking from the inside out. Our connections do not have to be far and wide, well known or important people. Rather the opposite is true, it's the soil that keeps everyday life and people going. If it were not for exchanges I have with others, who spark ideas in me, life would lack the creativity that keeps it from being boring. They become roads in my head that draw maps to traverse terrain I might not have. They nourish me more than material gifts and my hopeful ambition is to return them.
