In the Fall, the front garden was redesigned and several trees were pruned way back.  Every branch of the cherry tree seemed to be cut in half, greatly reducing its size and span.  I remember thinking that it looked less alive.  There were no leaves left on it and it looked like it was in the early stages of becoming firewood.  The gardener was very reassuring that this was actually good for the tree.  By cutting it back, I was told, the tree would be healthier and would bear even greater fruit.

It is now late February, and the cherry tree, which stands about thirty feet from the office window, is filled with white blossoms and the first of the deep, red leaves that will soon cover the entire tree.  The branches still look like half cut logs for the fireplace, but I can see that within a couple of weeks, the sawed off ends of the tree will be so decorated with new growth, new life, that the pruning from last season will be barely noticeable. 

At times, I have felt about my own life, the way that I felt about the cherry tree when it was cut.  Sometimes I have had to prune people, projects, situations, experiences and scenarios from my life.  That process is never easy.  I feel precious, prized, living pieces of myself trimmed away, and for a while, I feel reduced, pruned, cut back.  However, just like the cherry tree, slowly, over time and in its perfect season, I see myself begin to blossom and grow again, stronger and fuller than before.  I experience the cuts healing and being replaced by healthy new growth.  I experience a size and shape to my existence that is full, healthy and in harmony with the garden around me.  And, within a very short time, I notice that my life is bearing an abundance of fruit.  The gain I experience in the health and integrity of my life, quickly becomes greater than the loss.  To the gardener who understands the necessity of pruning and to the tree that is pruned, thanks for this life lesson.
 


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