A friend showed me this story a short bit a go. It comes in many versions, but all the same message. For some reason it has always stuck with me.
A confused girl came before a wise Man who adored her. She felt that to give in to him would mean she would open her heart to unbearable pain should he ever leave her. She hungered for him and needed him, but was ready to walk away in panic.
The gentle Man knelt her before him and started a tale of love and devotion. As she looked up at him his arms began to widen and open like a large tree stretches its branches to the sky. At that moment the Man appeared rooted to the floor and his impressive size towered above her like a giant tree. Then he began to speak…
I’m here for you… now and always no matter how far time and space takes us… Whether you walk away from me today or you stay with me I will not turn from you. I am as patient as time itself; I will take not from you unless you give freely and completely of yourself, but I give onto you regardless– for what I give is unconditional…
Like the olive tree that can both feed you and shade you, I am there seemingly eternal to your short life on this earth. If you need my fruit to feed your hunger I will give you all the fruit you need. If your skin grows dry and loses its luster, the oil from my fruit will restore it and make it glisten. When you need comfort my leaves will gently caress your face with the slightest breeze. If you just need my shade to protect you from the sun, my branches will shade and protect you. If you need warmth at night my fallen branches will fuel the fire to keep you warm and safe. If you need a refreshing breeze my leaves will fan you and cool you. You are my gardener.
When you come to me, you tend that which keeps me vibrant and full of life. When you kneel under me and till the soil, you give breath to my roots. When you water me, my sap flows strong through me raising my limping Branches. When you soil yourself collecting fertilizer with your bare hands, you strengthen and humble me with your devotion.
Although my life will go on, life would not be the same without you. Your dedication and unconditional care for me will keep me vibrant and nurtures my very core. The sustenance and protection I give you seems little reward for your gift of yourself. Still the gardener serves the tree from her heart and the tree gives to her heart all that he can!
I am planted firmly on the ground and cannot follow you if you walk away from me…. But be assured I will survive. One hundred years later and two of your lifetimes; I will still be there, waiting for you in the same spot to offer you all that I do now.
Stay with me and be my gardener. You cannot get lost in me for we are complementary to each other. I am your devotion, and you give meaning to my existence. Apart we live life and survive; together we bloom eternally!
… As the Man finished his last words the girl cried herself to sleep at his feet. That night, he stood planted there like the Olive tree offering her himself unconditionally his love and protection as she slept. As she would tend to him with her devotion the next day… and everyday thereafter!
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