Fruition: Lessons of a Papaya Tree

 

You can accomplish a great deal by standing still.





I didn't use to think that was true. So I spent a lot of time running in and out of my house, in and out of my car, in and out of my destinations, to try and accomplish something. Each in and out, I had, each time I walked out my front door, I passed this papaya tree.

I admittedly scoffed - a little - at first. What a scrawny tree. Truly, she was not much to look at, in the lost corner of her yard behind a tool shed, and next to my yard, which also boasted very little. I had taken a monthly rental, before packing up and moving on, so I invested very little effort - what could I really do for just one month? Oh, did I mention, she was a good 10 - 15 yards away from a highly trafficked road? This was part of the reason I was moving - how could I thrive next to such loud, disruptive noise?

Then one day - somewhere between a week and a half to two, she started popping out these small green balls. Little. Nothing to really notice. I noticed, but I also continued schlepping in and out - with out any real result.

Then one night, yes night not even day, I noticed, all these papayas and thought, "Where the hell did they come from?" Somewhere between scrawny and this moment, this "little" papaya tree had produced an abundance of fruit. So much, that the family whereupon she lived would have to give some, or sell some, or at least freeze some.

And me? Well, I'm just standing here wondering how I can be more like a papaya tree.