The Gardner and the Seed

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.