Don’t Blame The Apple Tree

I have a favorite apple tree that wears its age with dignity. The bark on the trunk is gnarled and scarred by woodpeckers and insects. Even so, the red apples are delicious with sweet, crisp flesh. In my mind (or really -  in my mouth) they are the best in the whole orchard. You might prefer the tree next to it that has a more classic form and green apples that bake well into pies and muffins. 

Most years, the apples from this best loved tree of mine are sought after by both the bears and I alike. This year, though, the apples from this tree are small and deformed, and the bear is sticking to the tree with the green baking apples.

We live in a sea of change. It's not just the apple trees! To the disappointment of the chipmunks, the walnut crop this year is small. 

You hear the teaching that everything is changing, but we forget what that means - our favorite things will change. The apples on my treasured tree are not so good this year for no apparent reason other than the fact that things change and conditions are variable. It's not clear why the apples are diminished this year because the tree next to it, in fact, is having a very good year with an abundance of well-formed, delicious apples. 

All things are subject to a myriad of conditions and influences. This means that some years you, just like the apple, flourish, and other years nothing seems to go right. 

I don't blame the tree for its decline. I look to find ways to bolster it. In the same way, don't blame yourself if you are languishing this year. Instead find ways to support yourself, shift your influences, and trust that the conditions will change.