Sunflowers

Scott Thompson’s family has farmed the Wisconsin soil for over 70 years. He usually plants strawberries. Then, in the fall, he grows raspberries and pumpkins.

This year, his crop looked different. He planted joy.

You can’t plant joy, but you can plant sunflowers. Thompson Strawberry Farm planted 22 acres of sunflowers, which attracted families who picnicked, wandered the fields of flowers, and took home a dozen sunflowers.

Thompson said, “We just did it … and we just kept building. As the season went on, the pandemic never went anywhere … and we thought people might be looking for something to do, and what a great way to social distance and … smile, basically.”

Those sunflowers did something for people. He said, “One of the things that’s so cool about this is everyone is so happy. We get all these comments on Facebook, or if I’m out in the field, everybody is like, ‘Thanks for doing this,’ (and) ‘This is what I needed.’ People are so happy to be out there and have a place to go.”

Here is a man who knows how to sow joy. He lifts the others’ spirits,  gives them a different picture of their world.

Don’t we all need to enjoy that kind of picture rather than the bickering, long lines, and death counts? We need some joy.

The question is not what you need. It is what you need to do in your life to sow enough joy to lift the spirits of others.

So, what do you plan to plant in your acre of the world today?