Once Upon a Time

 Many evenings, my daughters ask for a story.  Not from a book or from famous fables, but one that I create for them or something that we craft together.  Last night was no different and as they say this is how the story goes...

Once upon a time in a land far away lived two girls.  Their home was modest yet tranquil, built by generations before them.  Each day the girls tended to their garden.  During these times in the garden, they kept themselves distracted by dreaming of seeing the world.  At night they dreamed of the exotic and fabulous locations that they would one day see.  But each day they would toil out of necessity for their very survival.  Over time, as they became more skillful and confident in their craft, they began to find that their worry was less and their joy increased.  Almost without noticing the two girls began finding new and unique ways of caring for their responsibilities.  In time, they grew confident in meeting their base needs.

As their efficiency increased the girls began growing beautiful items such as flowers, trees and shrubs.  Each day they worked creatively and developed unique species of rare beauty.  Their little home was in time surrounded by a most incredible garden and people began discussing it.  In time, people came to visit.  First just to look and eventually, feeling inspired, asked the girls if they could purchase some of their items for their own gardens.  The news began to spread throughout their area and to the neighboring villages and eventually to towns and villages far away.  As a result the amount of people visiting increased steadily.  The small path that the girls and their family members before them used to walk to town, was replaced with a road.  Hotels were built and restaurants served food from the region and all flourished and were grateful to the girls.  

The girls were now as busy as ever as they tarried to meet the needs of this unexpected demand.  But they enjoyed interacting with individuals from places far and wide.  They heard tales of their guest travels and the vivid stories of cobblestone streets, castles and scenery from lands far away.  The girls listened intently and enjoyed learning of the lives of their guests from afar.  Upon the guests departure, the girls would watch their plants leave in the care of their new owner.  The plant was off on a grand adventure, soon its roots would dig deep into the soil of a new land.  They wondered if it would be near wondrous mountain peaks, on the flatland near majestic creeks or perhaps in the window sill of a small town shop or schoolhouse.

Each night over dinner the girls would discuss the cultures, architecture and scenery that was shared by their guests.  They laughed as they imagined other unique residents of their own creation interacting with them, their days guest in this far away land.  Each next guest and story like a puzzle piece to a world of their own creation.

In time the girls grew old and while they labored still, they required more help and took more time to pause and visit with their guests.  It was during one of these times, that a guest asked if this had always been their dream to create such an impressive business?

The girls told the guest of their need for survival and their desire to see the world and visit diverse and interesting places.  The guest asked the places they have been?  The guest was in shock upon learning that they had never left their town.  Saddened for the old ladies now seemingly impossible dream, the guest asked if they had any regrets of sacrificing their dream?

 The girls responded that while they have not left their farm, that they had indeed seen the world.  Their plants and flowers dot towns and villages throughout the land, each experiencing beautiful sunrises and sunsets.  Their trees have given peace and solitude to many through their beauty and shade.  And the vegetables from their garden have fed many a weary traveler.  In exchange, they heard tales and shared stories that have become so interwoven that they dull reality.  They showed their hands, the dirt under their nails today is the same dirt as it has been for decades.  And while that soil has not changed, their roots have grown to fill this valley.  They shared, to grow one must be well rooted.  To grow tall, those roots must go deep and hold steady.  To grow strong, the tree must face seasonal resistance, storms, droughts and wind. But above all, to reach it's fullest potential a plant must always be looking up in gratitude towards it's source.  There are plenty of distractions if one looks out, perhaps that is why people visit our home and garden, but those distractions lessen the more you look up as the sky is the same everywhere. 

The end.

As I gave my girls a kiss good night and stood outside their door.  I could hear them conversing and pondering in their own way, what it means to be human.  In a world full of choices and unquenchable thirsts for things of little lasting value, may they find joy in who they are, and the many that have come before that now make up the soil that supports their growth.  May they grow up through the shrubs, thistle, and weeds, past the trees and bushes living beneath their potential and up into the sky where they can feel the radiant glow of their creator.