Ever see the numbers on the bag of fertilizer?
Ever wonder what they mean?
They indicate the percentage presence and concentration of three ingredients: Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium. (N, P and K.) So a ten-pound bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer will have one pound each of N, P and K.
Ever wonder what they do?
Nitrogen enhances the production of chlorophyll, which makes the plant grow up.
Phosphorous helps the blooms and leaves reach their potential, making the plant grow out.
Potassium plays a key role in root development, helping the plant grow deep.
Grow up. Grow out. Grow deep.
Sounds like a good plan.
The Community as a Garden
Building a community is quite analogous to gardening. When done properly, it’s an organic process. Your task is to not just build, but to cultivate with an end in mind. (Are we producing fruit? Pretty flowers? Shade? Or are we just making future compost?)
Growth Isn’t Good…
…but it’s not necessarily bad, either. It depends on the growth you want and the growth you need. If you have a fast-growing lawn already, you don’t need to make it grow taller. You just have to mow it and tend to it more often.
Likewise, you can spend all your time focusing on bringing out the flowers, but not have a healthy root system primed to survive the seasons.
Growth for growth’s sake is not a great idea. You might be over-developing a muscle or a habit that is already a strength for you, instead of shoring up a weakness.
If you have an awareness that Growing Up, Growing Out and Growing Deep are different exercises, you’re less likely to ignore one of them.
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Nice – applies not just to community building but to personal development as well.