The seed you plant today, will be the tree that gives you shade tomorrow. ~ West Indian Proverb
This was a popular saying of many old people in the town where I grew up. Never really appreciating the meaning myself, my grandmother took this to heart, she sowed seeds of faith, seeds of generosity, seeds of wisdom and knowledge. She was also constantly telling us (my brothers and I) that what she was doing wasn’t for herself, but rather for her children and grandchildren. This I NEVER understood, why would a woman who had so little give so much of herself to others, Often without reciprocation?
When I became an adult and had children of my own, without understanding the true meaning. I followed the same path…….Giving without expecting anything in return; many of my friends said I was encouraging laziness, that I was naive. But in actuality, nothing was given to anyone who didn’t need it. So my life of giving went on, until the time came when I could give no longer give the way I wanted to. This week with a little help from a few good people, I learned the meaning of “the seeds planted today, will be the tree that gives shade tomorrow!’ Life is a circle, what we send out eventual finds it way back to us, the kindness we show to others may not always return from the same hands, but rather from someone or somewhere else. We are all out brothers keepers, we all connected through humanity and acts of selflessness.
The seeds of kindness, favour, and forgiveness I planted years ago, became the tree that give my family and I shade this past week!
© Etta D. Richards
Simply Etta 