Tracy Chapman was one of my favorite artists while I was in high school. Her self-titled first album was released in 1988. Several years later, while completing my masters degree at Boston College, I serendipitously lived in the town house in Boston in which Chapman had apparently written her first album while studying at Tufts.

Fast forward a few more years and Chapman released another compelling song called “New Beginning.” The lyrics call for a new beginning as a means of fixing our broken world.

While none would really prefer to “start all over” in a world as complex, fast-moving and interdependent as ours, we can as individuals start every next moment with open eyes, a clear heart, broad vision and a favorable disposition. Far too often a new moment, a new morning, a new day or even a new year is initiated while “under the influence” of the weight of past experience, prejudices, fears, and worries.

Considered individually these influential factors may not amount to much, but when they are tallied collectively – particularly over time – they become something akin to what microbiologists and other scientists call “biofilms.” Biofilms are are an aggregate of microorganisms in which cells adhere to each other and to a surface. Dental plaque is one obvious example, but less obvious ones are found deeper in the body and in fact in the majority of microbial infections. These biofilms are incredibly resilient, can grow in the harshest environments and in the case of the body’s biofilms, they can slow or even block healing while complicating symptomologies.

Emotional or intellectual biofilms can prevent healing and propagate more chaos in your life and in the world. The more you are weighed down by the past, by your prejudices, by your dislikes and gripes, the better you prepare the soil of your mind and heart to fail to effectively handle each fresh start given to you by the future.

How you handle today’s harvest plants the seeds for your tomorrows. Rather than being concerned with the nature of the harvest – is it good, bad or neutral – the wise person emphasizes how the harvest is handled, as the quality of the handling of the harvest is what shapes the future more than any other factor. As I mentioned before, the world is more obviously interdependent than ever, so the odds are that your harvest was likely not due to a seed planted by you. Does that stop you from handling the harvest wisely? I should hope not!

Similarly, the seeds you sow may not end up in your garden. Why not give others the best possible chance for success by planting only good seed? A little altruism in this sense goes a long way. A small seed doesn’t cost much, is easy to plant and can grow into something as large as a giant Sequoia tree! It is definitely worth the effort.

As you take the time necessary to keep a clear heart while handling your harvest you will find that those nasty biofilms that have made it difficult are slowly, yet surely, expelled from your heart and mind. Forget Rolaids…this is the new way to spell relief!