The Master was approached by a new student one day who wished to learn
of life. The Master looked at the student and suggested he get some pruning shears. He
then directed the young one into the garden.
"I would like you to prune all of these plants, trees and bushes, young one. Do this
and you will learn everything you need to know."
"But how will I know which ones need pruning and which ones do not," the student
asked, clutching the shears knuckle-white tightly in his hands.
The Master looked kindly and gently upon the face of this eager and scared student, and
saw it rich with love and light.
"Look at them all and allow your eyes to be guided to the ones that desire to be
pruned. For they will show themselves to you." With that, the Master smiled and
strode away.
The student was puzzled but did not wish to displease the Master so he went into the
garden.
As he gazed upon all of the living things, he became over whelmed with confusion. The
garden had been developed over many years and contained within it varieties of plants from
all over the known world. Many of these had
never been seen by the student, and he was quite confused by the plethora of choices
before him.
"How am I to know which ones need cutting and removing and which ones do not? What if
it dies after my pruning because I cut away too much? What if I
do not cut enough and it dies from being too full and heavy?"
The young one agonized over his task. He felt the weight of his responsibility fall fully
upon him and he knew not where to begin. In fact, the more he thought about the task
before him the more afraid he became. He became rooted to the ground in his fear. And he
just stood there unable to even begin feeling lost in the choices and decisions.
Halfway through the day, the Master walked by and looked in on him. "What is the
trouble, young one?" the Master asked with a smile upon his face. "Master, I am
baffled by this. How is it that this will teach me anything of what I desire to learn?
Plus, the responsibility you entrust to me in the care and pruning of these is such that I
know not where to start. Please help me, Master. Point me in the direction you want me to
go in. Show me where to begin and I promise that I will finish the job. I just need to
know where to start, that's all." The student smiled knowing how kind the Master
truly was. He felt certain that the Master would help.
The Master smiled at him and then shook his head "no" to the student's
amazement.
"Only you are uniquely qualified to do this job, young one. If I were to tell you
where to start then it would be MY pruning being done and not yours. This is YOUR job, so
just close your eyes and begin where ever you like. And I assure you that that will be the
right place."
The Master turned and walked away and the student watched his departure open-mouthed,
unable to believe he had been denied by his teacher. With no other options before him and
without thinking he walked to the nearest bush and began to hack at its limbs. As soon as
he began, the bush began to speak to him!
"Why do you hack at me, young one? Why do you hurt me so? Have I done something to
displease you? Or to anger you or harm you? Have I hurt you in some way?" the bush
asked with "tears" falling off its leaves onto the ground. The student was so
surprised that he dropped his shears, tripping over his feet as he scrambled out of the
way.
Gathering his wits about him, he said, "I do not know how to prune you
properly." "Oh," said the bush. "The perfect way to prune
anything is to close your eyes and picture it being perfect. Then open your eyes and
create what you just "saw". Just cut away all that does not belong in your
picture and leave everything else," the bush stated with simplicity, happy to be of
assistance.
"But how can it possibly be that easy? I mean, people train all their lives to learn
and understand horticulture. Yet you think that I can get it so easily just by
'picturing it' in my head?" The student's voice clearly conveyed his disbelief.
The bush paused and then said," But if I believe and have the faith that this is the
perfect way to learn this, why do YOU doubt? After all, it is my branches you cut away.
YOU have nothing to lose, now do you? Just prune
with the intent to love me fully and completely and then allow that love to guide you.
Your hands will prune me cleanly and perfectly. Then both of us will be satisfied with
your work."
The student thought for a moment. After all, it was at least a place to start. And this
was what he had asked for: a beginning.
At the end of the day, the Master came by to see how his student had done. As he entered
the garden the student ran up to him, with joy and happiness evident upon his face.
"Oh, look Master. Look at what I have done today. I learned how to prune away a plant
and a tree, a bush and a flower. I found out how to cut cleanly and surely and to do it
decisively. I discovered how to tell if it needed pruning or if it did not. And when it
did need pruning, I learned to feel how much to cut away and how much to leave behind.
Whatever I left on the plant was the perfect amount to leave."
The student was justifiably proud of his work. The Master looked around the garden,
pleased with what he saw and then turned to the student.
"How did you learn to do this? For when I left you I saw only confusion and disbelief
upon your face. What changed you," the Master asked.
"I talked with the plants and allowed them to show me what to do. I allowed my love
and desire for their happiness to guide me, Master. When I followed my heart and let it
show me where to cut and where not to cut, it was SO easy. Oh, Master how wise you are in
this. Thank you so much!" With that the student hugged his Master and fell to his
knees in gratitude.
-;-*-.,,.-*-;-*-.,,.-*-;-*-.,,.-*-;-*-.,,.-*-;-*-.,,.-*-;-*-.,,.-*-;-
Beloved ones, there is so much simplicity within this story
that we
might be tempted to let it pass without a second thought. But like the idea
within the story itself, sometimes the very simplest of things teach us the most
profound lessons.
Look to your own lives, look within your own heart and discover what it
is that needs pruning and what still serves you. Prune away those things
that no longer serve you or that do not fit into your image of the "perfect"
you. And then allow that "perfect you" to stride forward, confident and knowing
that whatever it was that you needed had been inside of you all along. The trimming merely
made it visible to you.
Look into the Mirror and see that which no longer is needed and allow it
to fall away. Hold not onto those things any longer for they no longer
serve you.
"God, I ask that all things which no longer serve me return to You in
their most perfect form. Others are needing these gifts more than I and I
choose to return them to you. I give these gifts back with love, honor, respect
and great gratitude. I look forward with joyful and hopeful appreciation of
these new gifts I receive through You. Thank you, God in this as in all
things. For you gift me greatly every single day and I KNOW that it is through you that I
receive all of my power, my beauty and my divinity. You are the ONE
through whom all blessings flow."
~Author Unknown~
I love this story! Thanks to Bobbie! Also
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