“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” Mother Teresa

Take just a moment to close your eyes, take a big deep breath, and think about the four seasons of the year: spring, summer, fall, and winter. What pictures pop into your mind when you visualize each season? Add your thoughts to the list below:

• Spring: buds, blossoms, rain, birds, bees
• Summer: warm sun, big leaves, full bloom, flies, mosquitoes
• Fall: harvest, fruit, leaves falling, bird migration, box elder bugs
• Winter: cold, snow, ice, quiet, dormant, mice

Now let’s explore the life cycle of an apple tree during the four seasons. In the spring, the buds on the apple tree that were dormant all winter explode with new growth, developing blossoms, leaves, and new branches. The blossoms entice bees and other insects to help in pollinating the tree, the leaves will grow to provide photosynthesis nutrients for the tree, and new branches will help the apple tree expand and capture more sunlight to grow bigger and juicier apples during the full-size and maximum nutrient production, and the new branches thicken and strengthen to support the weight of the apple fruit. During the fall, the apples mature for harvest, new buds develop on the branches for the coming year’s growth, and the leaves dry up and fall to the ground, providing nutrients for the tree’s root growth in future years.

You, like the apple tree, are destined to experience all the seasons of life. You, like the apple tree, will have different kinds of growth depending on the season. You will have a time to grow branches and a time to bear fruit. You, like the apple tree, are intended to reach for the stars at night and to delight in the comforting warmth of a bright sunny day.

Excerpt from “Dance With The Elephant-Life’s Cosmic Equation”
http://DanceWithTheElephant.us

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Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a great tree in the midst of them all. Buddha’s Little Instruction Book