Seeds to Trees

Here in California, the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada range are the only natural habitat of the Giant Sequoia, the largest trees on earth. The majesty of these living giants is truly something to behold; some have even been measured to be more than 300 feet tall. 

It is a humbling experience to stand in their presence. 

There’s a lot we can learn from a tree – the tree withstands the heat of summer while providing shade – a lesson in tolerance; it stands in the cold while it’s branches are used to provide the warming heat of a fire – a lesson in sacrifice; the more it’s limbs are filled with fruit the more they bend down – a lesson in humility. 

Yet even the Giant Sequoia, in all its glory, starts from a seed cone just a few inches long. Each seed cone holds hundreds of seeds, each just a millimeter in diameter. If you saw one of these seeds, you would never guess the towering, beautiful tree it would become. You may overlook it entirely. Yet with the right growing medium, this seemingly insignificant speck has unlimited potential. 

Ideas are much like seeds. Every great and beautiful thing that has existed in the world; every novel, every painting, every marvel of architecture, technological innovation, or instrument for social good – they all began as just a wisp of an idea, existent only in the imagination of one person. 

This is why seed funding matters. Supporting early stage changemakers opens the door to the dormant potential that rests within them. It unleashes the passion they have to make a positive difference and inspires others to do the same. It diversifies the marketplace of ideas and democratizes who can participate in social change. 

What seems insignificant today, won’t be insignificant tomorrow. What may seem tiny, or even invisible, can have immeasurable impact and ripple out in untold ways. 

I believe that there are seeds lying dormant in the hearts of every single one of us. If we plant those seeds in the soil of compassion, nourish them with the light of connection and water them with spirit of service, what a lush and verdant world there will be.