Reflections from the Fire: An Apple Seed changes Everything

This morning sitting at my fire and savoring the moment, the winds were alive with the sound of birds singing songs of life.  My eyes were drawn to the trees that live in my yard.

The shafts of light were incredible to "see" and experience.  As I sat in wonder of the moment, I was reminded on something I read a very long time ago.  This is from a larger works by Illan Shamir entitled "Advice From A Tree".

Stand tall and proud

Sink your roots deeply into the earth

Reflect the light of your own true nature. 

Think long term.

Go out on a limb.

Remember your place among all living beings.

Embrace with joy the changing seasons,

for each yields its own abundance.

The energy and birth of spring.

The growth and contentment of summer.

The wisdom to let go like leaves in the fall.

The rest and quiet renewal of winter.

Feel the wind and the sun and delight in their presence

Look up at the moon that shines down upon you,

and the mystery of the stars at night.

Seek nourishment from good things in life...

simple pleasures

earth

fresh air

light.

Be content with your natural beauty.

Drink plenty of water.

Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes.

Be flexible.

Remember your roots.

Enjoy the view.

The best lesson's in life surround us each day in nature.  I am reminded of a Koan given to me by a teacher:

The way is like an apple tree that grows an apple.  You can eat the apple or not, it does not matter.  Yet the tree still grows the apple.  That is the way.

If you are not familiar with Koan's, they are Zen riddles that can be meditated upon to achieve a new level of enlightenment or awareness.  They are designed to be able to be answered only by one who contemplates and meditates upon them.  Each person will have a different perspective and a different answer.

The apple tree.  The apple itself.  At the core of the apple is seeds.  Seeds that have the ability to flourish into new trees that can produce a thousand new apples.  Each seed growing into roots deep into the core of the Earth where the fires can fuel millions of seeds in the same moment.  Each seed can grow a branch that reaches to the sky for oxygen and sun to nourish its growth.  Yet, without the roots, without the branches, the tree would fail to grow.  

This growth of the single seed occurs whenever anyone pauses to appreciate the beauty of the tree.  To savor the sweetness of the fruit, or even touch the bark that has the flow of life giving chi through its core.  Is this not the truth for each individual.

At our core we have more seeds to plant.  We plant the seeds through our words, our actions, and even our thoughts.  Each breath plants a seed.  It can be a seed that flourishes and grows to plant other seeds.  If our seeds are of honor, faith, inspiration, and love, our journey is filled with shade from the trees that are filled with branches and leaves so that times of trials and struggles we can rest beneath them and savor a moment with the taste of a sweet fruit that nourishes.  If our seeds are of anger, resentment, and dis harmony, the path is barren and full of dusty sand that leaves no respite and no life sustaining fruit.  Still the seed is planted.  The fruit is birthed.

Each of us will plant a seed, that is just the way.  Each of us will travel a path, that is the journey of all.  The difference in the journey is whether you will make the choice to plant seeds that give off life sustaining fruit.  The difference in the journey is whether you will make the choice to pause and reflect the beauty of the apple tree you have given birth too.  The difference in the journey is whether you will taste the sweetness of the apple and allow it to nourish your body in the physical and the spiritual.  

The nature of life in a simple apple seed.