Notions
May 08, 2013 / The Farmer’s Land
Once upon a time there was a young farmer. He owned a large farm of many acres, and although he had to work very hard, he loved his land and loved caring for it. He knew every little hillock and valley of his farm, and every plant that grew on it, and all the animals that lived there, too.
As time passed, and the young farmer was no longer quite as young as he used to be, he found that the large farm was a bit more than he could handle, and he sold off some acreage. But he knew every little hillock and valley of his small farm, and every plant that grew on it, and all the animals that lived there, too.
Some more years passed, and the young farmer was a pretty old farmer now. It seemed a good idea to pass on the small farm to his grandson, and just keep the nice truck garden right out in the farmyard. He knew every small hillock and valley in the truck garden, and every plant that grew in it, and all the animals that wanted to eat the plants, too.
As the young farmer grew quite old, and his arthritis and other things got to bothering him, he turned the truck garden over to his little great-grandson, and he himself managed the two rows of bright flowers by the back door. Although he didn’t get out there every day, he knew every clod of dirt in the flower garden, and all the wonderful flowers, and all the animals that wandered through.
The young farmer is a very, very old man now, and he spends much of his time in his comfortable bed. On his bedroom windowsill is a window box…and he loves the window box, and loves caring for its plants, and knows it, knows it all well.
Take heart. The whole world shines in the merest grain.