It is an odd expression when you think about it. When we describe something as having gone to seed, we usually mean that it is past its best. As a haphazard gardener, I often find myself missing the harvest and watching as plants shoot skywards and flower, rather than provide me with juicy vegetables and salad leaves.
Yet I am excited when things go to seed. I am fascinated by the way that the flowers fade, the seeds form and are then held in the seed heads. Seeds are full of nutrients and potential; they are forward-looking whilst bringing their essential characteristics with them. And whilst not everyone has the desire or the ability to bring little humans into the world, everyone has a legacy to leave.
What are the ideas we want to take root in the world? What sorts of questions and thoughts do we want to communicate? What are we creating that can land in the soil and begin to grow? What are we leaving behind in our impressions as we tread the ground?
I am aware that my words and images, the things I share with others, the meaning I make will plant kernels in the hearts and minds of others. I know this because there are seedlings in my heart too, that have grown from encounters with other people and their work. Conversations, books, drawings, music, photographs, sculpture, chance encounters, film... humans have a dizzying array of dispersal methods for their ideas too!
Going to seed is an exciting time, a time of noticing and reflecting on how we show up in the world. Sometimes we are lucky enough to see the seeds land and sometimes we have to offer our gifts to the world in the knowledge that we have no control over what will happen next. Perhaps the important thing is to invest our energy into the here and now, so that the seeds are ready to fly.