I’d like to share this short story of mine…Blessings
The Story of Mary Maple
Mary Maple was the only tree of her kind for miles around. The Great Gardener had placed her there himself when she was but a sapling. She was firmed rooted beside the bank of the crystal clear river, along the walking path of her gardener. Every day the Gardener came by at precisely a second before sunrise to see her in the morning light. And then, every evening the gardener would return a second before sundown to sing her to sleep.
Mary was planted in an ancient forest surrounded by the highest cedars. She neighbored the beautiful willows that swayed gently in the wind. Mary wished with all her heart just to fit in and be like the other trees, and she sometimes wondered if she had been placed there by mistake. But something about size and shape of her branches and leaves brought her peace in her placement. Her branches were firm; similar to the cedars. And her leaves swayed in the wind a little like the willows.
Mary Maple was an especially beautiful tree. What set Mary apart from her neighbors was her beautiful leaves. Her branches were full and bursting with star-shaped green. She was convinced it was these leaves alone that warranted her daily visits from the Great Gardener.
All day long her branches reached toward the sun. And when the rains gently fell, she noticed how the leaves push all the wonderful water towards the hidden roots underneath.
One morning as she prepared for the sun to rise, she was shocked to see the Great Gardener wearing a long-sleeved shirt, instead of his usual short-sleeved shirt. She thought it was interesting, and thought no more about it. But as the days went by, she noticed the gardener wearing thicker and thicker clothing. And then it all started.
To her utter horror, one day Mary discovered a bright red leaf amongst her beautiful green leaves. She was horrified and tried to shake it loose before the gardener came. Knowing the sun was ready to make its daily entrance, Mary did the only thing she could and tried to hide the leaf from the Gardener’s sight.
Usually the Gardener paused briefly on his path and smiled at Mary each morning. But Mary was convinced that the gardener saw the red leaf this day. For the first time since her planting, the gardener left the path all together to gaze closer.
As the gardener left without a word, Mary experienced sadness for the first time in her life. It was almost unbearable. Then discovering that not only was one leaf red, but the red was fast-spreading, like a virus over her branches, Mary cried out in fear to anyone listening.
The cedars and willows all ignored her cry. And she thought she might have heard a chuckle. But soon a visitor came to her aid. It was a furry little animal who scurried from branch to branch. She asked the creature its name, and it replied proudly, “Squire Squirrel”.
With no oak trees in sight, Squire had little reason to come to this part of the garden. But upon hearing a terrible cry one can’t ignore, he came running.
Squire settled on the lowest branch to catch his breath and listen to Mary’s tale.
Even as Mary explained her progressing problem, leaves continued changing colors. And by the time she finished, she noticed a few leaves fall from her branches; drifting down the crystal clear river.
Squire listened intently and with compassion. He had heard this story many times over in the oak part of the forest. Squire knew it was no accident that it was he who heard the desperate cry for help. He had the wisdom Mary needed for the coming season.
The squirrel explained to the maple all that was to happen in the coming days. Listening to her fate, she felt like she had been given an unjust death sentence. Had she been too proud of her leaves and was being punished? Or maybe she didn’t belong in this path, and this was the beginning of an end. Surely the great gardener would have no interest in a truck with empty sticks scattered across the branches. What would wave and honor the wind or gather the sun? The saddest part was the realization there would be no color left in her world.
Squire asked Mary to imagine these leaves as hands; palms reaching to the sun to gather in all the goodness. The leaves received blessing rays the entire seaon. But then, as nature has a way of maintaining perfect balance, these leaves give way and offer themselves to the ground, to the animals and the rest of creation. Squire told Mary about Benny beaver who lived up the river just beyond her sight. Benny waited all summer long for the leaves that would trickle into his yard and help insulate his home for the coming winter.
The squirrel also asked the maple to take a long look at the trees around her. Squire shared how each tree’s choice made a big effect on their appearance.
Squire said, “Look at old cedar over there! Cedar holds onto his leaves so tightly that they become compressed to the point of being prickly. No squirrel or other sensitive creature wants to visit Cedar. Cedar holds onto all he receives and never gives anything back”. And Mary thought back and couldn’t remember a time when birds played in Cedar’s branches, as they did so carefree in hers.
Squire also pointed out Willow. “Willow became so bereft when she lost her leaves as a sapling, that she eternally droops searching for her lost leaves. She doesn’t even notice what she has, because she’s only looking at what she’s lost.” Mary imagined the majesty that would be commanded if Willow’s long slim branches stretched to the sun instead of crying to the earth.
Squire then decided it was time for Mary to look more closely at herself. “Look at the base of your trunk Mary. See how some of the leaves are gathering around and staying close by. These leaves will keep your roots safe in the coming season. They also will protect your earth from becoming Weed’s earth. Weed only takes another’s earth for himself. He gives nothing back.”
Squire assured Mary all she had received this whole season was safely stored underneath her earth in her roots. “One day in the not too distant future Mary, your branches will be covered in green again. I promise.”
Mary wanted desperately to trust Squire. He spoke with compassion and from life experience. But as he left to return to his home with the oaks, she couldn’t help but let her branches droop slightly, for the sun had fallen asleep, and the Great Gardener had not shared his song this evening.
The Great Gardener didn’t return the following morning either. In fact, Mary was visited by a cold snap of Frost and Snow instead. They were not pleasant companions. All the joy in her world seemed to have escaped down the crystal clear river. And even the crystal clear river carried no families of ducks or fish any longer. It was perfectly still, as if afraid to move in the presence of the assertiveness of Frost and Snow.
The only bit of change in Mary’s limited view of the world was the occasional flicker of red from Cardinal. But this only seemed to mock Mary and remind her of loss. With every flicker of red wings, another tear fell from Mary’s branches; only to be claimed by bitter Frost and Snow. As the days passed, her branches ached from the weight of the tears that clung to her branches.
Then one day Mary heard a sound. The sun seemed slightly brighter that day. As the shuffle came closer and closer, Mary realized the Great Gardener was returning. She at first felt ultimate joy at this thought. But that joy quickly faded when she looked at her reflection in the stillness of the river. The Great Gardener would be met with frozen tears hanging from her branches, instead of beauty.
As the Great Gardener left the path and approached the mourning tree, in her shame Mary couldn’t bring herself to look at the gardener. But upon feeling a slight pull on her lowest branch, she peeked open one eye. The Great Gardener took a hammer and nail and chipped off the heaviest tear. And to Mary’s amazement, her most earnest prayer nudged out from the branch. A little bud had appeared, holding inside the entire weight of a promised renewal.
The Great Gardener left without a word. Mary didn’t know he only used words when all other languages were silenced. As soon as he was out of sight, Mary felt a familiar weight on her lowest branch; a furry friend.
Squire had returned. He wanted to see for himself what the birds had sung to the wind. It was then that Squire decided Mary was ready to learn one of life’s greatest lessons. This was the same wisdom he had been given by each season’s change.
“The greatest lesson in life is to learn to love. It is simple to do, but it’s not easy to learn.” Squire shared with Mary, “Holding something so tightly to the point of never releasing, only diminishes love and makes it uncomfortable for closeness, much like Cedar. And only dwelling on the love that passes through and around, leaves so much love unnoticed. Like Willow, one forever only reaches away from the sun for that which was meant to be returned to the earth.”
“Dear sweet Mary, there is a time to receive and a time to give. Wisdom is earned when one learns to observe and honor the seasons and accept the Gardener’s plan. Nothing is ever completely lost in his garden. As quickly as one season passes, another returns. Every blessing that is received must first be given. And to give a blessing, one must have received it first.”
AncientModernShaman 