I have been thinking this week about some of the seeds I planted months ago in my personal and professional life that are just now coming to life. Building The Daily Wild has involved so many small actions: reaching out to a potential partner, applying to a bazaar that was 9 months in the future, trying a new event, sharing an idea, having a quick conversation, or creating something without knowing exactly where it would lead.

Some of those efforts produce an immediate result (which is very satisfying!) Others seem to disappear beneath the surface. That can be hard when you want reassurance that all your effort is leading somewhere. But not every seed is meant to grow right away.

This is what brought me to the Chipmunk this week.

People often ask me, “What’s your favorite animal?” And while it’s hard to pick just one, the Chipmunk definitely makes the short list. There is something irresistible about them. I’m not sure if it’s the bright eyes, tiny paws or cheeks that seem capable of holding far more than should be physically possible. They are curious and playful, but they’re also always gathering. One seed at a time, they prepare for their future.

I’m reminded that building something meaningful often looks like gathering, planting and preparing long before the results become visible. We may not know which conversation will become a collaboration, which customer will return with a friend or which small idea will eventually take root.

My goal is to keep doing the work that matters, one thoughtful action at a time. I’m learning that my future is often shaped by the small things I’m quietly putting in place today.

– El

Chipmunks may be small, but their lives are built around an impressive combination of curiosity, awareness and preparation.

During the day, they move quickly across the forest floor, investigating fallen logs, rocky crevices and patches of vegetation for food. Their diet can include seeds, nuts, berries, mushrooms and insects. When they discover more than they can eat, they use expandable cheek pouches to carry the extra food away, sometimes making trip after trip between a food source and a safe storage place in their burrows.

During the winter, depending on the species and location, chipmunks may enter periods of torpor, lowering their body temperature and activity to conserve energy. They can wake periodically to eat from the food they gathered earlier. The work they did during seasons of abundance helps sustain them when food becomes harder to find.

But not every stored seed becomes food. Some germinate. So, in preparing for their own future, chipmunks can also help plant the landscape around them. There is something really cool knowing that they don’t know which seeds will feed them, which will be forgotten or which may eventually grow into something new.

Our own preparations often work the same way.

Whether you’re building a business, creating a new chapter, or exploring new ideas, growth and change require us to plant many seeds without knowing exactly what each one will become. A conversation may lead to a collaboration. A first-time customer may return with a friend. A small event may introduce people to a space they grow to love. An idea that receives a little attention today may find a bigger moment months from now.

Chipmunks remind us that not every meaningful event is created through one enormous effort. It is more likely created through smaller acts like sending the email, making the introduction, learning the new skill, completing the application, following up with the customer or taking care of the detail that will make tomorrow easier.

Some of what you put in place today will sustain you. Some actions will make things easier in the future. And some of your activities may grow into something far greater than you ever intended.

I am really loving it when you share your daily card pulls with me - I’ve been seeing more of these come through Instagram. Tag @yourdailywild! It never gets old and always makes me smile to see the animals that are calling to you!