Today we had to do our two weekly shopping at Jasmyn . We are blessed to be situated a couple of km from this amazing local fresh produce market. You find the most amazing products including fresh honey, an array of milk products, a meat market and bakery.

The surroundings are farmlike with a huge windmill as landmark. Beautiful green gardens surround the building.

Along the way we passed a new fruit plantation next to Jasmyn. It was very noticeable that some of the trees were standing tall and strong and some of them were looking sad and small. Rows and rows of them.

In Jasmyn it was noticeable when walking through the shelves how the farmers are struggling to produce in this lockdown period and the influence that the lockdown has on the fresh produce sales. Although the shelves were stocked we were limited with the variety available.

Fresh bread was packed and closed and not displayed on the tables for you to choose your own. Hygiene comes before experience during this time.

On our way out we started chatting with an old Boer oom behind us. Somehow the topic of the trees came up. He explained to us that he grew up on an orange farm and that some trees just doesn’t grow as some of the others. Sometimes the smaller ones also produce fruit , sometimes sweeter than taller ones. That is why they leave all of them to see which way it goes. Some of them don’t produce fruit at all and they are eventually left to die off. The smaller ones that starts producing will receive extra care in the final stretch.

On the way back it got us talking.

Aren’t we all part of a bigger plantation. If you compare us as a family to a row and then the bigger community the whole plantation. We grow up in one household. We usually get equal attention, love and care from home but not everyone in the family will achieve the same level of success.

In the bigger plantation you are compared to other rows with different water pressure (love and care) . Some are planted in spots where the bigger trees steel some of your sunshine with their shadow. Others are planted on the sides where the water pypes might be malfunctioning but still get additional water from the upper part trees flowing down to these trees.

We flourish or die and we blame everyone and everything around us. We look at beautiful strong successful people and feel that we have missed out on something in our lives and that its  someone or something’s fault that we have not grown quite as big or that we are not bearing as much fruit.

Can you imagine having a conversation with these trees. Most of them don’t care about the one planted next to them. Their whole focus evolve around how much they can try to source for themselves. Some of them grow stronger and longer roots to get more water from the ground. Some grow scew due to wind blowing from a certain angle. This doesn’t take away the fruit that they bare in the end. In these trees the fruit grows equally all around and somehow the tree manage to carry the weight.

Then you do have the smaller sad ones that doesn’t manage to grow up to bare fruit. They will probably tell you about the lack of water, sun , fertilizer or the location within the plantation. Unfortunately these trees will forever be left, casted out not being cared for because they are not of use to the farmer.

The ones that manage to weather the conditions will bare good fruit and farmers will start giving additional attention to boost them either more. They will get the respect from the farmer. He will tell people about his little trees that are bearing the sweetest fruit compared to the big strong ones that might bare as many or as  sweet

Sad but true.

You are responsible for your own growth. If you are still waiting for someone to create a break for you I have some bad news. You are on your own. No one planted next to you will be sharing out of their own will. You have to grow your own roots stronger. You have to grow with the wind and show your face to the sun.

The tallest trees usually gets the strongest wings. This sometimes ends in disaster where the trees in adult life, bare no fruit at all. Their branches are empty.

So don’t compare yourself to strong and healthy trees around you. They might not always look this way.  Especially if you start making the best of your situation.

With some extra self-care you can grow up to be the one with the sweetest fruit, full branches. Admired by all.