The Plant Your Life Will Become

From the BitPersonality Archives

Last week I participated in the first session of a new “creative fellowship” run by my online pal

Arran Rogerson

. It’s called Seasons of Change.

Arran shared his philosophy behind Seasons of Change in this Substack article:

The Pot and the Plant

His metaphors reminded me of a letter I wrote to a companion back in 2013, when we were both figuring out what the hell to do with our lives after college. Here is that letter:

---

Dearest __________,

Thank you for recommending the book The Defining Decade¹. It was very helpful to get me thinking of my twenties as a time to set the foundation for the rest of my life.

There were two metaphors the author gave that resonated with you, and I feel like I have a great analogy that synthesizes the two of them. 

The metaphors are:

1. being lost in the ocean (i.e. it’s better to start swimming in one direction than to just sit there until you drown) and

2. building a custom bicycle (i.e. your life is a rube goldberg machine made of many different skills you pick up along the way).

It goes a little something like this:

Imagine a seed, planted into the ground. It doesn't know which way is the quickest to the sunlight (up, or out of the isolating abyss of the ocean). So at first it extends its tentacles/arms/roots in multiple directions. As its arms reach further and further away from its center, it contributes more resources to the paths which think it will bring it closer to the sunlight. Some paths end as the seed recognizes there is little chance of that path leading to the surface. Many paths look so promising that they will branch into two or more paths. As the seed extends its arms further into the soil, its knowledge of its surrounding environment will increase, and it will learn from past dead ends. As its volume of roots expands larger, the seed has more accesses to resources. These rescues make it easier to grow more quickly. You know the sunlight is close, you just need to keep going in the direction that you think will best lead you there. You're not positive you will ever reach the sunlight; there is the possibility you will never make it. But if you choose not to extend your branches, the possibility of ever reaching the sunlight falls to zero. You must always strive towards the sunlight, and once you reach it you will have a solid foundation on which to begin building. After you reach the surface your efforts bring more reward and encouragement. You can begin to see your potential blossom, and those closest to you can as well. What once seemed like hard work is now an easy sacrifice for the fruits of your labor, toward which would you have continuously worked to grow and nurture. This is what you will be remembered for, the unique and beautiful flower² which your hard work and persistence has left behind for the world to enjoy.

- Kevin “Shirt Guy” DeLand

---

To Arran, I say

You build the pot, I’ll grow the plant.

1. The Defining Decade by Meg Jay

2. If you’d like a more visual illustration of what this flowering might looking like, might I recommend the math videos that partly inspired this letter: Vi Hart’s “Doodling in Math Class” series on YouTube. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.