What Planting Season Taught My Nervous System

In early spring, the work never stops.
There are fence lines to check. Seeds to sort. Tractors to fix. Schedules to juggle. Kids to feed.

And for years, I braced for it all. I took pride in powering through.
But my body? She had other plans.

My nervous system started sending signals—subtle ones at first. Then louder. And then I crashed, mid-season, too burnt out to enjoy the bloom I worked so hard to sow.

It took me longer than I’d like to admit to realize:
If the soil doesn’t rest, nothing grows.
If I don’t rest, nothing blooms.

That’s what Being Planted is about.
It doesn’t ask you to stop everything.
It just gives you a place to notice. To breathe. To capture what matters in the chaos.
Especially when the work never stops.

Burnout Doesn’t Always Look Like Breaking

Sometimes it looks like bracing.
Like pushing harder.
Like forgetting to enjoy the part you prayed for.

I used to think resilience meant muscling through.
But real resilience—the kind that lasts through drought, hailstorms, and toddler tantrums—is quiet. It’s slow. It’s made in the moments you pause, not the ones you push.

What Farming (and My Body) Keep Reminding Me

• You can’t plant and harvest at the same time.
  There’s a rhythm to things for a reason. Rest is part of it.

• Overworking the soil depletes it.
  This is true for land. It’s true for people.

• Seeds don’t grow faster because you stress.
  They grow because the conditions are right.

What I Practice Now (Even in the Busy Season)

These aren’t perfect, and I don’t do them every day—but when I do, I feel more rooted:

• A 30-second check-in before I rush into chores: What’s my breath doing?

• Noticing one thing that’s working well today. Just one.

• Letting joy count as productivity.

• Letting the kids help—even when it’s messy.

• Capturing one moment in the Being App that I want to remember from this season.

Because the truth is: the work never stops.
But neither does life.
And I want to be here for both.

A Final Thought for Fellow Over-functioners:

If you’ve been powering through too, I get it.
You’re not lazy. You’re not failing. You’re just tired.

Let this be your gentle permission slip to pause—even for a breath.

Not everything blooms at once.
But something will. And when it does, I hope you’re rested enough to see it.