The Power of One

I recently attended a church retreat. The theme of the weekend centered around a stalk of wheat. Biblically, wheat symbolizes charity, love, fertility and represents the life cycle. A sheaf, or sheaves of wheat, are stalks of harvested grain bound together. Essentially, the multitude of seeds are formed together to create one stalk. Throughout the weekend when we, (there was about 60 of us), gathered in a room for an activity we began with singing and linked our arms over each others shoulders and swayed together like sheaves of wheat. When we traveled from room to room, we held hands while singing our way down the hallways. A sense of unity was prevalent amongst us; we were many, but one as a whole.

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. John 12:24

The song America the Beautiful begins, “Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain.” If you have traveled in rural areas around these United States, you have likely witnessed these amber waves of grain flowing on a breeze in the summer sun. The wheat fields have long been a symbol of our beautiful America and have sustained farmers fields and nourished families for centuries.

I live in Minnesota, I have seen my share of snowflakes, especially this year! Have you ever thought about how many snowflakes it takes to pile up six inches of snow or make a snowman? I’m pretty sure the correct answer to that is infinite, however, the snow can only accumulate when millions upon millions of flakes bind together one by one.

Emperor penguins thrive in Antarctic weather where temperatures of -20 are not uncommon. They sometimes survive by huddling together in tight formations to protect each other, conserve heat and create a shield against mother nature’s assaults. When huddled, the colony members are continuously rotating as the ones on the inside get too hot and the ones on the outside are slowly rotated towards the center. For the greater good of the entire colony, they operate as one unit.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead

Dandelions are considered a nuisance to most people who want to keep a well-maintained yard. They are a weed whose dried flower seeds spread like wildfire and can very quickly turn a green plot of grass into a yellow field of flowers. My mother reminds me once in a while that when I was born there was a field of dandelions outside her hospital room window. She thought of them as joyful because of how they spread and associated them with my birth. Each dandelion flower head dries into a white puffball containing as many as 200 seed pods. They are scattered by the wind or by dreamers like me who pluck them from the ground and make a wish before blowing them towards the sky.

Dandelions are also an herb with many health benefits. They are a weed, a flower and an herb. No matter which one you think of them as, they are one flower with many seeds that spread and spread creating more and more of the flower, the weed, or the beneficial herb? You decide. Humans are kind of like that too. We make a choice about which part of us we want to spread; the flower, the weed or the part that is beneficial to others.

During my church retreat, part of the purpose of standing with shoulders linked was to spread love, charity and life to each other and to feel those things when we swayed together. We all felt it and grew from it, wanting to spread our good graces each time we separated. During our time together we shared life stories and the wisdom we have gained from our experiences. Some bared their souls and most committed to focusing more on matters of the heart, or, the things that matter most. We hugged and cried and laughed. We listened and learned, coming away with knowledge greater than we had when we arrived and better off for having the experience at all.

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” – Andrew Carnegie

Each of us is an important seed in the sheaf of wheat, a stalk would not form without the individual seeds. Many seeds equals one stock, which provides nourishment across the globe. We have the power to do this as humans. Together, we can change so much. Together we can make things happen.

I must admit that I personally measure success in terms of the contributions an individual makes to her or his fellow human beings. -Margaret Mead

One snowflake has its own beauty, billions of them can create a wonderland or a disaster. One penguin can freeze to death if the colony isn’t continuously moving. It is a collaborative effort that is responsible for their survival. One dandelion produces 200 seeds, or is it weeds? Or flowers or useful herbs? What are you spreading? How are you using your power of one for the greater good?