the apple tree

Barefoot and bare chested they sat together like two old souls. Lanky grass, fading sun and a dry wind. As we worked a tangled vegetable garden they crunched apples, their shoulders all the while touching.  She held a tiny brown seed up to the sky and declared in absolute certainty, "If I plant this seed, an apple tree will grow."  And with that a  pot was found, some lifeless soil scraped from the dry earth and this little seed plunged deep into his dark new home.

We thought of adequate seed preparation, soil quality, the inevitable lack of (or over) watering and the many years it would take before it bears fruit - we thought with logic.  She thought of sprouting life, tyre swings on strengthening boughs and finally crisp, red apples - she thought with hope. Pure, no doubts to hinder, energising, motivating hope.

With another year upon us it is time to dust off old dreams and set them straight for the days ahead. I am going to tread new boards this year and explore wild and wiry places. And I want these adventures to be light filled not clouded with negativity and defeatism. I want to awaken to possibility and chance and wonder; to breathe a little more "apple tree philosophy" into my day.

She believed the tree would grow....and it did.

Steph x