Watering the Willow Tree

Watering the Willow Tree

         I could not understand the joy nor the pleasure of watering the willow tree but the purpose was clear; willow trees must have plenty of water to thrive. I knew that. What I couldn’t grasp was why my mechanically intellectual daddy who had so many other things he could be doing, just stood there and held in his hand the thin, green, rubber water hose to water that beautiful crooked willow tree. I even watered that glorious tree myself and can remember just standing there holding the water hose, never even thinking I could just lay the hose on the ground and begin another task; I was simply doing as my father had done. My daddy could stand seemingly endlessly. It was not time wasted, but rather time with a definite purpose, a time of reasoning; a brief time of quietness to get his thoughts or plans together.

         Now, past my 50th birthday I can place myself mentally by the crooked willow tree and I understand why I must simply stand.

         For the truth and simplicity of the matter, yes, the hose could have been laid by the tree’s roots and another task could have been done. In our day of computers we call it multi-tasking; just how many things can we take care of all at one time? Just how many damn projects CAN we be involved in before burn-out?

         Yet there is only one of each one of us – ourselves. But who’s holding the water hose for us?

         People have called me a workaholic. They always tell me I need to relax but they never see me “by the crooked willow tree”. I have my time. And they also ask me where do I get all my energy? The water coming from the end of the water hose is positive energy; the holder of the hose is security and calmness. The time spent watering this beautiful tree is also a time of reckoning.

         I do get "wrapped up” in projects and tasks, so many at one time that my oldest son has referred to me as being like a nuclear submarine captain. The captain does not operate the sub all by himself, but rather utilizes his tools and equipment at hand, and depends on his crew for support and to successfully complete a mission. His crew, on the other hand, is depending on him, the “holder of the hose” from whence cometh guidance, security and calmness based on knowledge gained from his life’s experiences of running his boat. They come to him because he is their positive energy.

         Reflecting on the different roads I’ve traveled, and remembering my variety of experiences, I realize the stories must be told or they will be lost forever.

         In music and song, stories are told in short form. A brief two-to-five minute song can liven a person’s mood, or bring them down to the lowest emotional point they’ve ever been in in their life time and time again. At any given point we can be lively, joyous, on top of the world, with positive energy flowing from us for all those around us to enjoy, or sometimes even drain us totally, IF we allow it to happen. Thus we must have that time of standing by the crooked willow tree to gain back our strength, regroup our own thought processes, set our goals, figure out a solution or simply take our mind away from a problem at hand so that we CAN come back to our daily activities to make proper decisions, and come back smiling, renewed and ready to tackle the world, changing all those problems into challenges.

          But just when you have done so and you think you have reached a “safe spot” in your life you are challenged or hit with something even stronger than you’ve ever had happen or could imagine happening to you, of such an unfathomable low that you don’t even WANT to come back up. It just doesn’t matter anymore. Life all of a sudden has no meaning, or so you think. It is very easy to stay in that mindset. The challenge is coming back. A sign at my local gym states "if it was easy everyone could do it”.

         There truly is a gift in all the trials but only positive energy can turn those trials and those experiences into a beautifully strong willow tree for others to enjoy its shade, take shelter, and rest their own souls for a while, however short that rest may be.

         When a bird perches on the willow tree's branch it may be only for a moment in its journey. The bird doesn’t know the storms the willow tree has endured, nor does it know or care where the water, the positive energy, came from, but yet the bird can continue in its travels having rested on the strong willow tree. It doesn’t see the pain the willow tree may be in or the struggle the tree may have had, searching for water.

         So are my friends, so are the people who’ve come into my life, some wanting to know how to get through a problem, and others who themselves need to rest awhile to regain their own strength. Then I know why I had to go through that difficult time, that hardship myself, however painful it was at the time, however painful it still is, for the strength it has given me.
Vicki Lynne
4/14/03