Growing Good

I was searching for an 'inspirational' piece for my boss a couple weeks ago to share at a meeting and found this one.  I thought I would share it with you.

Growing Good Corn
Author Unknown

There once was a farmer who grew award-winning corn.  Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won a blue ribbon.  One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it.  The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors.

"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.

"Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know?  the wind picks up the pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field.  If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my own corn.  If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn."

He is very much aware of the connectedness of life.  His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor's corn also improves.  So it is with our lives.  Those who choose to live in peace must help their neighbors to live in peace.  Those who choose to live well must help others to  live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches.  And those who choose to be happy must help others to find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.

The lesson for each of us is this:  if we are to grow good corn, we must help our neighbors grow good corn.

Additional thought:  When we hang around with friends and/or family who are unbelievers, are we sharing good seed with them - or will the 'cross-pollination' from their seed degrade the quality of our talk - and our walk?

Blessings!