A Journey of Language, Growth, and Autism Perspectives: Stephen’s Evolution

Planting Seeds in the Dark - Creativity, Growth, and Understanding Language

• Stephen McHugh • Episode 51

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Have you ever found yourself planting seeds without seeing where they might lead? This deeply personal exploration aims to take you on a journey through the unexpected ways inspiration can bloom, particularly through the lens of autism and language development.

For me, the concept of ‘planting seeds in the dark’  perfectly captures those moments when we're putting in effort without immediate results. This may be a feeling familiar to many, but particularly resonant for me navigating the world as a neurodivergent individual. From creating idiom stories that aim to transform abstract concepts into visual narratives to finding unexpected inspiration during outdoor runs, this episode reveals how creativity can emerge during moments when we least expect it.

Through reflections on my journey with language comprehension as an autistic person, I share insights about how brain connections may develop differently but can ultimately lead to profound understanding and creative expression. I’m not sure if this is true, but I think it’s an intriguing possibility. The story of my blog post featuring short idiom stories. It now happens to be my most popular content. To me, this demonstrates how patience and persistence can permit those seeds planted in uncertainty to eventually bloom into something meaningful. I also briefly explore my latest idiom story around the phrase ‘A Spring in Its Step,’ showing how nature and personal interests can spark unexpected creative connections in us.

Whether you're neurodivergent or neurotypical, this episode, I believe, can offer valuable perspectives on embracing uncertainty and finding hope when creativity feels elusive. 

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Thanks for listening. You can find me on my website stephensevolution.com, or on twitter here. You can sign up to receive news of new episodes when they're released here.


Artwork produced by Elena Designe
Music composed by Nela Ruiz

Stephen McHugh:

Hi there and welcome back to another episode of the Stephen's Evolution podcast. I'm Stephen McHugh, your host, and it is in this podcast where I talk about how I aim to bring my lived experiences on the autism spectrum to life. I try to link them to figurative language, including metaphors and idioms. In this episode, what I want to talk about is, how inspiration can often strike when we least expect it to like, during moments when we're unsure about something or have difficulty with a particular task. It might take time, but those seeds, for me, always grow and eventually bloom. I have found this especially true when I have to try and come up with new ideas for podcast episodes and blog posts. And the blog posts on where I've written stories related to idioms are no exception. Let's get stuck into how inspiration can work in unexpected ways.

Stephen McHugh:

The idiom I'm going to refer to in this episode is 'Planting Seeds in the Dark'. Have you ever felt like you were doing this? It can be doing the work in the effort, but you may be unsure of where it may all lead. I have a blog post where I've written idiom stories, short stories, the aim of which is to help those on the autism spectrum understand figurative language, including idioms more easily. When I think about it now, I can compare this to planting seeds in the dark. During that blog post, I wrote up to 20 stories based on 20 idioms. Looking back, trying to think up those stories, would often feel like planting seeds. At first, I wasn't sure how the seeds would come together. However, I would keep going by continuing to think up ideas, write them down, keep creating, and slowly it's like the pieces began to fall into place. Right now, I feel as though I'm at that stage again. I'm trying to come up with my next idiom story. And since it's meteorological spring, there's 1 idiom, which I feel fits this occasion well. It is 'A Spring in its Step'. In March, and the way it began, when the weather had a much warmer feel after a cold end to the winter, that's how the idea for this story came about. The way I looked at it was, it was like the season itself having a bit of a bounce, or, quite literally, 'A spring in its step'. In this upcoming story, just like in previous ones, there will be two characters featured. One is autistic, and there's another one who helps them to understand what the idiom really means. At this moment in time, I'm not quite sure how this full story will pan out, but the way I look at it is, it's in the beauty of creativity, much like the season of spring itself. Inspiration can often emerge when we least expect it.

Stephen McHugh:

There have often been times when I have found that, when it comes to understanding language, and building writing, language, and communication skills, visual thinking has played an important part in my journey as an autistic person. I remember times when I was introduced to pictures and illustrations, and encouraged to describe what was happening in them in my own words. At first, I'd struggle to find what words to use, but by learning to visualise what I saw in my own ways, I would then describe it from there. And it is from there that something started to click into place. In fact, fast forward to more recent times, like not long after I started my blog, it was this approach that would spark an idea for my idiom stories. As well as writing them, I would invite readers to draw how they visualise the stories I create, much like painting pictures with their minds. Over time, this approach didn't just help me to understand the idioms themselves, and see how it can be possible to make idioms easier to understand. It also helped me to improve my my writing even further. Back to the times when I was young and being encouraged to describe what was going on in pictures and illustrations, it was from then onwards that my writing and would become less repetitive and more descriptive.

Stephen McHugh:

And now back to my blog post about my own, where I've written my own short idiom stories. Take one of the examples from it, 'Over the Moon'. It was here where I imagined a character who would be so overjoyed at something they'd jump so high, it would look like they were literally jumping over the moon in the background. By visualising it in that way, the way I think about it, it helps me to understand the meaning behind the idiom, and see how it can be possible to understand it and then describe the experience through storytelling.

Stephen McHugh:

For my next idiom, what I'm going to do is the same kind of approach. I'm going to imagine the change from winter to spring as a shift in energy. It can be almost like going from low down in the cold to jumping higher up into the warmth of spring. One character who's going to be autistic might find themselves struggling to understand the meaning of the idiom at first. See how having a spring in your step can mean feeling lighter, more positive and have more energy. What I find interesting is that I've realised this is exactly how my own creativity works. I visualise them first and the words follow after. It's a process I believe that's helped me both in understanding language and in creative writing, writing my own stories that others can connect with.

Stephen McHugh:

The way I think about my journey with language development, particularly as an autistic individual, the idea of 'Planting Seeds in the Dark', I find, resonates with me deeply. Looking back to times when I was young, there would be occasions when I would struggle to understand different forms of language, most notably metaphors, idioms, well, in other words, figurative expressions. I would often find myself having difficulty to process words or concepts that others seemed to grasp more easily and readily. I don't think it was that I wasn't capable of understanding. I just needed more time for things to make sense. The way I think about it is, maybe the connections in my brain probably weren't fully formed at the time, or were taking longer to develop. I've often wondered whether this was down to loose connections between various parts of my brain or connections that simply needed more time to grow and strengthen. I'm not a doctor, so I can't say for sure whether or not this is true. But what I do know is that, if that is true, describing loose connections between different parts of my brain and connections needing time to develop, with patience, practice and support, those connections would have begun to form, much like a seed quietly growing beneath the soil. Things would start to come together, not all at once, but in their own time. Over time, I would begin to get a clearer picture of how language worked, how to apply knowledge, and how to make more sense of new concepts. And if it's true that those connections slowly strengthened, I became more confident in expressing myself through writing, storytelling and, in this blog, eventually creating idiom stories that help others to understand language in more visual and relatable ways. In my web analytics, this is shown to be my most popular blog post.

Stephen McHugh:

So when I talk about 'Planting Seeds in the Dark', I'm not just talking about creativity. What I'm also doing is reflecting on the journey that I've been on in terms of learning and growing, and how I've experienced that, as an autistic person. Sometimes things won't make sense straight away. However, that doesn't mean the understanding isn't there. It's just hidden beneath the surface, growing quietly, just waiting for the right moment to bloom. You may find yourself encountering difficulties in your own creative process, but remember, it's okay sometimes. It's okay to just plant those ideas and let them grow at their own paces. You don't have to force inspiration. It can often come when we least expect it.

Stephen McHugh:

This is something I've learned from my own experience, particularly when working on my own idiom stories. For my latest planned story, 'A Spring in Its Step', I've drawn inspiration from something that's always fascinated me, the weather, alongside nature-based subjects. With it being spring at the time of recording this, I've noticed it's the season of colours in bloom, and I've noticed more flowers in bloom, the changing skies, the warming of the air, and the lighter feeling in the air too. Colour has always been a fascination of mine. What I've come to realise with it is, the variety of colours in nature can all be symbolic of our unique abilities, challenges and the challenges we overcome as individuals. I look at all those from my view as someone on the autism spectrum, sometimes by taking a step back and focusing on my interests, be it in nature-based subjects, weather patterns or the sounds and sights of nature around me in quiet settings. This can all help me to find more in terms of clarity. In fact, the idea for this latest idiom story a spring in its step came to me during a recent run outdoors. By being out in the fresh air, I allowed my mind to wander and suddenly the concept for the story started to take shape, t he flowers in bloom and the warmth of the sun.

Stephen McHugh:

So if you find yourself struggling with ideas or feeling overwhelmed, one piece of advice here I can give you is think about what things interest you. Maybe it might be nature, art, music, space, or something else entirely. Just simply allow yourself to step away from the pressure to create and instead let inspiration find you. After all, just like spring follows winter, creativity often blooms when you give it the chance and space to grow. And another thing I'd like to mention. Whenever I've achieved low grades and exams, I've always thought back to underlying improvements prior to any results with low grades and facing the prospects of resits. Whenever I've done that on the resits or when I've done a new course, I found that I've achieved better results the next time round. This gave me more confidence that I was progressing even further, and that my language skills were improving, along with my ability to understand and apply new concepts. So, yes, think about previous positive moments. For me here, it was underlying improvements in the past, prior to any low exam grades.

Stephen McHugh:

And now, as I conclude this episode, whether it's coming up with ideas for my next podcast episode or blog post, or simply navigating everyday life, what I've learned to do is trust that the seeds of inspiration are always there, quietly growing in the soil, waiting for the right moment to bloom. Even when things feel dark, uncertain or unclear, hope and creativity are always present just beneath the surface. Sometimes, all it can take is stepping back, being patient, finding a quiet space and moment and allow your ideas to grow in their own time, at their own natural pace. What I'm curious to know now is, what helps you to hold on to hope when things feel uncertain. Are there creative ways you found to help you work through moments of uncertainty, moments when you feel stuck, encounter difficulties, or times when inspiration has come to you at a moment when you least expected it?

Stephen McHugh:

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts. Feel free to share your reflections, questions and comments via the text link in the podcast episode description. Or join the conversation on the associated blog post with this podcast episode, or even on social media like X, formerly known as Twitter. Let's keep this conversation going, because sometimes by hearing the experiences of others can help us to feel a little less alone in our own creative journeys. And if you'd like to stay updated with future episodes, you can subscribe via the 'Stay in the Loop' link at the footer of the homepage of my website, stephensevolution. com. Goodbye for now. Take care and I'll see you in the next episode.