All seeds must go through darkness before they come to the light. Its a fact of life. Buried in the darkness seeds begin to grow. They dig their roots in and push upwards, towards the sunlight. They never stop, they keep pushing. Even after they break out of the ground they don't stop. They continue to grow, to strengthen. They reach for the sky.

That's not all. A seed needs proper nourishment. The soil around it must have nutrients and water. Without it a seed will die. Also a mighty oak starts out as a little acorn. Even the massive Redwoods in the west started out as seeds. The Redwood seed is only about 3 millimeters long. The tallest Redwood, 379 feet, started as a 3 millimeter seed. It took roughly 700 years of perseverance to grow as tall as it did.

How is this connected to us? Like seeds we are planted into darkness, but unlike seeds a lot of us don't push through the darkness. A lot of us die out. Not literally, but in the sense that we don't live to our potential. We settle for mediocrity.

Like seeds we must dig our roots in. Where? Our past. Roots give seeds strength and stabilization to build on. Our pasts can give us strength to push forward. Give us a stable platform to build our lives on. This is different then being trapped in your past. Being trapped you relive it and let you past influence your decision through fear. Being rooted, is learning from your past and using the strength that comes with it.

We need nourishment just like seeds. Being around toxic people will weaken us, pull us down. Being in a bad environment will weaken us too. We can't grow around these people and environments. Seek meaningful friendships. Friendships that make you better, stronger, wiser. This is the nourishment we need to help us push through the darkness and even after it.

Great things have small beginnings, hence the use of the Redwood tree in the beginning. Just because you think you're small doesn't mean you cant be great. Persevere through adversity. Never give up. One day you'll break through the darkness, make it to the other side. All the pain and the struggling will be worth it. You'll be free from the darkness.

Continue to grow, never stop. There's always something new to learn even after leaving the darkness. Be the best person you can be and help others along. We're all on a journey to where is up to us.