Taylor Swift and the Sower

I am not a Swiftie in any form. I have listened to her tracks when they come across my streaming feeds or are on the radio at work. I like a few of her songs, but I can’t say I am as fanatical as some. I also am not dissing her in any way, because I have listened to some of her songs in the past. But even I could not escape the news that she dropped a new album in recent weeks, full of 31 new songs that Swifties are deeming her best yet (at least the Swifties in my circle are. I can’t speak for others).

But that begs the question – what happens to the bad songs? What happens to the lyrics that don’t make the cut? What happens to the music that is deemed “meh” or even worse, terrible?

Any creative will tell you that there is such a thing as “bad” when creating. I write terrible words all of the time. I have to cut whole scenes and even whole chapters from my stories before I publish them. So it’s not that difficult to jump to the conclusion that even a popular artist such as Taylor Swift will write something that just tanks. The difference is, she has a team that helps her these days … whereas I remain in the shadows solo, still writing and having to work a job in addition to that writing. But I digress. She deserves her popularity and her following. After all, she had to sow the seeds to get there… just as we all do. And yes, some of her works may have tanked. Some of her lyrics may not have vibed. Some of her chords may have just hit the wrong notes. But she is reaping a harvest that is full these days. No matter what your stance is on her music, you can’t argue the fact that she is indeed one of the biggest names out there right now.

What kinds of seeds are you sowing? And where are you sowing them?

There’s a parable in the Christian Bible about the sower who casts his seeds wide. Some land on the trails and paths to be trampled on or eaten by birds. Some land in the rocky soil, never to take roots because there is nothing to help them grow. Others land amongst the weeds and thorns where they are choked out and have to compete for nutrients and sunlight. But some land on the good soil where they not only take root, but flourish into a good yield to be harvested.

I’ve always wondered why the sower just sows seeds willy-nilly, randomly scattering precious resources far and wide. Seeds are expensive! But then I think of how most people do the same thing. We spend our time and energy investing in a wide range of things and ideas, hoping something will stick. Some of it doesn’t work, like “thoughts and prayers” after a mass shooting or initiatives that worked in the past that aren’t yielding the same results. But we keep trying. We keep failing. But we get up and do it again, sometimes to the point of insanity… sowing the seeds all over the place and hoping to reap whatever we are looking for.

It makes me wonder how many times Taylor Swift had to throw away lyrics or music in her early days. Those seeds were sown, even if they yielded nothing.

It also makes me think of this, since lately I have been hiking instead of doing tons of writing. Those trails the sower cast the seeds on…. once upon a time they were soil, until years of people and animals and the like treading upon it wore it down. The good soil was once there, so the sower keeps trying to make something grow there again. The weediest patches were places where once a garden grew, but it was left untended for some time. Perhaps the sower was hopeful to get it back the way it was. Those stones in the rocky soil…. maybe they are obstacles that were cast there from other gardens, ideas that didn’t work or just mentalities of institutions that “well, we’ve always done it this way and we will do it this way all the time.” They are meant to hinder, but like all rocks, they can be pulverized.

Perhaps the sower is an innovator, someone hoping to make it big like Taylor Swift…. or perhaps they are just someone filling in the pages of their story by sowing seeds they hope will take no matter where they land. Perhaps… just perhaps…. they are trying to make some magic themselves. And maybe… just maybe… that’s the only harvest they are seeking to yield.

Where are you sowing? And what are you sowing? Are you getting the yield you are hoping for?

Stay magical.

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