As a mentor, teacher, or professor, you might believe that your actions are small and insignificant. You could feel as though your dedication, devotion, motivation, and inspiration provide very little support in the total education of a student. But in reality, your actions are as important as water is to a plant.
You are a gardener. You provide nourishment of knowledge and understanding. You remove weeds that would stunt our growth. You balance sun and shade to maximize our potential. A gardener also provides small and insignificant things. Water and sun are free and plentiful. Only labor is required for weed pulling. Balancing sun and shade comes from experience. But what would we be with out these things?
We are only seeds. We are small genetic capsules of potential. Our stored energy is found deep within our shell. However, most of this energy is used to break that shell. The remaining energy is used to reach out. It is at this point when the seed would strive and thrive or lie and die. It is at this point, when you are not merely a worker; you are the gardener.
Only the gardener can place the seed in the perfect soil. Only the gardener can make the seed germinate. Only the gardener can ensure the sun will be there when the seed reaches for it. Only the gardener can help the seed to grow and blossom. Only the gardener can help the seed to share its fruit and produce more seeds. Only the gardener can teach a seed how to give shade to those seeds that are struggling, burned out, or scorched. Only a gardener can turn a seed into a tree. You are only a gardener. You only provide these small and insignificant things. Your small actions will continue to go unnoticed and unappreciated by many who were once only seeds. But should you feel melancholy about being only a gardener, go to Central Park and sit under a tree. Try to imagine how many people love that tree on a hot summer day. Look in the branches and you’ll find other creatures that love that tree as well. All of this originated from a simple gardener and a simple seed. Both may be forgotten, but their energy lives on. You are our gardener and we are your seeds.
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2 comments:
have read blogs, etc for years,,have never commented...i guess i say this to show that in writing this comment, how much it means to me to read this, how much it touched me. thank you for sharing. my therapist (many many years ago) called me a gardner. and, she mentioned it vaguely though the years if i ran into her (sometimes hiding from her..;-) )
tonite is the first time ive looked it up, and maybe the first time i would have insight.
anyway,,,thank you for posting your thoughts.
Thank you for sharing your comment. Over the years I have been inspired by people, places, and things that are most unusual in terms of providing inspiration. One example is the homeless man (Joe) who I used to see every morning when I walked my dog in Central Park. About a year ago Joe was given a bike that someone was throwing away. That bike somehow transformed Joe from helpless and hopeless into helpful and hopeful. Now I see Joe only occasionally with his bike sitting on the bench he called home. Just from his appearance I could see the pride on his face when I say hello. He knows he's not the same person he was before. That bike was all that Joe needed to change his life. One of these days I'm going to have a sit-down chat with Joe and get the whole story of where he came from and where is he headed to. Maybe this will inspire me to dust off my bike. Thanks again for your comments.
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