Thursday, June 19, 2008

The Farmer


There was once a farmer who owned a beautiful piece of land that stretched as far as the eye could see. This farmer not only grew his crops, but also created a great amount of wealth and health for his entire family. Everything was going according to the farmer’s plans until he noticed a small tree growing in his field.

The tree did not seem to be a problem for the farmer, the crops still flourished and produced. Additionally, the tree provided plenty of shade when he would get hot from working in the sun all day. The farmer began to love his tree. The tree grew large and spread its branches wide over the field. The tree even started sprouting saplings as the wind blew seeds across the field.

Not before long, the farmer noticed the tree had taken up a rather large portion of his field. The crops began to die as the roots of the tree stretched far beneath the ground in every direction strangling his crops. Soon the farmer realized that all his crops were gone and not yielding any produce whatsoever.

The farmer found himself in a desperate situation. He had run out of wealth and desperately needed to plentiful harvest to feed his family. However, he loved his tree and had become accustom to lounging under it all day. He decided to cut the branches of the tree so that the sun would strike the crops. After cutting all the branches off the tree and planting new crops, the farmer felt relieved to see his crops barely sprouting out of the ground. However, the branches of the tree grew quicker than the crops and once again hid them from the sun.

The farmer made the DEFINITE decision that something must be done. He dug DEEP and cut the tree at the ROOT.

The branches of any tree in your life will not linger long after the roots has been cut. However, the decision to dig deep it is the most important and difficult thing you will face. Adverse situations will not take care of themselves. Once the root of our problems has been completely removed from our attention, then the outcome and effects of our problems begin to dissipate. Change your thoughts to not accept the situation (whether it be a relationship, lack of money, ect) and dig deep. Trimming the branches only bring frustration, DIG DEEP.

Beautiful Photo courtesy of Robby Garbett


16 comments:

HEALTH NUT WANNABEE MOM said...

I love this story. I tend to be a branch cutter but need to dig deep into the roots. it is only when we do that that resolution truly comes. It just can be so hard! Great post as usual.

Sherer said...

Thanks Healthnut, I appreciate you stopping by! When we make definite desicion and look back - its never as hard as we thought it would be.

Babs (Beetle) said...

Very true, even if sometimes painful.

Swubird said...

Living Infinitely:

Very well written and thought provoking post. Health Nut isn't alone. I think most people tend to be branch cutters. By cutting a little bit off of the tree they hope the whole problem will go away. But like you said, it's the opposite. You have to get right down to the root of the problem - the underlying thoughts.

Great post.

happy trails.

Bob Johnson said...

Your wisdom shines through your analogies, I still trim the branches every once in a while to get a quick fix, but I am learning through experience to take the time to dig the odd root out.

Sherer said...

Babs! thanks for coming by - its a pleasure- and yes pain is sometimes necessary to pass on to the next phase of life.

Sherer said...

SwuBIRD - thanks for sharing you knowledge as usual. There seems to be a part of us that wants to hang on to the destructive things in our life - so we just cut a little here and there

Sherer said...

Thanks for coming by Bob - I apprecaite it as always - and yes trimming the branches is always the path of least resistance when change is a must- DIG DEEP

Anonymous said...

I am that farmer. Diandra is my tree. My good friend I know what I must do. The hardest part will be cutting the very thing you love, but at times ripping that band aid off is the only way to save ourselves from long agonizing pain. Thank you Mr. Sherer.

Sherer said...

Thank you for stopping by - believer. Your a great encouragement in my life

Anonymous said...

Excellent analogy Sherer. Very good advice.
~JD

Sherer said...

JD - Thanks for stopping by I thank you

paisley said...

i too have had to sever the root of something i loved very much,, but was making it impossible for me to grow... this was brilliant....

Sherer said...

Thank you Paisley - it takes great courage to do this, many time we find it hard to know the root is even there because of our attachment

Max Coutinho said...

Hello Sherer,

First I would like to thank you for having dropped by my blog, thanks :D!

Now, this is quite an analogy; I loved reading it!
Many times, in life, people do give too much importance and care to things that will hinder their lives later on...it's incredible! And then the pain of letting go is as huge and as deep as that tree's roots!

Excellent article!

Cheers

Sherer said...

Thanks for coming by max! To all who don't know - i would highly recommend max's site - very deep and poetic