I spent the morning thinning our apple tree. I was surprised at how contemplative the process made me. It felt so wrong to take off the majority of the tiny growing apples, but I’ve read that the growth of each apple will be minimal if the tree is left overwhelmed by the fruit on its branches. I know this to be true of our apple tree, and so thin I did. In doing this process, I was lost in thought at how imposed space is essential for all living things to truly flourish.
I have a tendency to overexert myself. I want to do all the things, and I want to do them all well. But I can’t. I can either do all the things, or I can do the truly important things well. We only have so much time, energy, and other resources. If we let everything have equal importance in our lives we can never really focus on doing things well and growing in the areas we deem important.
I want the fruit of my apple tree. I want the food to grow large and have space and resources to reach its full potential. In order to do this I must make hard decisions, and do things that sometimes feel ill-fated. Why would I pull off hundreds of apples when what I want is a good harvest? But in making space for what’s left I increase the possibility of a good harvest.
Friends, make room for the growth you hope to see in your gardens and in your lives. It isn’t selfish to take time for yourself, make and keep boundaries, or choose one thing over another. It is our own way of pruning excess to make way for abundance.