Worth

Something about this fig tree resonated with me as I walked by it today. I've been walking by it all year, every time I go into our Guildford office. I watched it go from bare branches to leaves to little figs sprinkling its branches. I smiled at the promise of fresh figs and homemade jam like old Mrs. Clarke across the street used to make when I was a kid. And then I watched as the fruit went un-picked and to-appreciated while the leaves dropped off the tree and winter set in. And now this lovely fruit is going to rot on the tree because nobody can be bothered to pick the figs.

I think about my own struggles and the struggles of people around me to understand our worth. When I was younger I often found myself in circumstances that made me question if I was worth anything. Then I let myself be pruned by life and starteded to blossom and see my own fruitfulness. But then there have been times in the past several years when I have had no doubt of the treasures that are in me and bearing fruit in my life, but it gets ignored because it's too much bother for the person or people around me to engage with. That's the one I'm still trying to learn to navigate and find myself trying to work through.

Maybe I'll pick the figs off that tree myself next time I go by it.