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The Old Papaya Tree
I have a tall big papaya tree at the back of my house. Probably 20 feet tall. The tree has gotten old and its’ roots has become a threat to my drain. Besides, the fruits were getting smaller and irregular in size.
It is time to cut it down and so I did. I threw the chopped up trunk and leaves into a compost heap. As I saw the pieces of the tree on that heap, a feeling of sadness came over me.
I do not know how that tree ended up growing in my back yard. I didn’t plant it. Probably grew out of some seeds that I threw or from some bird droppings. First saw it when it was about 6 inches tall. It grew. I allowed it. Didn’t water it, thou. It gave fruits; big ones, over a foot long. Tender, mildly sweet fruits. I ate it all up. And it kept giving fruits. That tree has nourished me, my family and friends. Nothing in return was asked of me. That tree has given me so much, unasked and unconditionally. I am eternally grateful for it.
The tree trunk and leaves will decay and become part of the soil, one with the earth. It came from the earth and to earth it shall return. Even then, it will nourish other plants.
Perhaps some of its’ seeds that I have thrown in the yard will sprout and come to life again as another tree.
A part that plant lives in me. It lives as molecules in my body, from all the fruits that I ate. It lives as memories in my mind, in its giving, in its unqualified generosity and love.
One day, this too will die. The body will return to the earth and nourish other life forms. Whether it lives on in anyone’s memory, depends if it has given itself when living, in kindness and love.
Life is a circle.
Muru
https://medium.com/@murugesansinnandavar/the-old-papaya-tree-43b304303772
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