"When you plant a seed, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the seed. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the seed.Yet if we have problems with our friends or family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the seed. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and argument. That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change."
Thich Nhat Hanh
Vietnamese Zen master
Photo: Limber Pine Cone, Cedar Breaks National Monument, UT; September 1, 2012. I have altered this quote slightly; Nhat Hanh speaks of lettuce seeds.
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