I have two baby trees growing in my front yard.
They planted themselves and all I did was not mow them dead while cutting the lawn. And it’s been about a year now.
The one is growing in solid. Upright and sturdy. Tons of branches and leaves. About 5 feet tall.
The other is… not so much. He’s having a hard time staying upright as of late. He’s about 4 feet tall and was toppled over almost in full, laying sadly on the lawn when I looked out the front window the other day.
So, I propped him up with a makeshift crutch and he was good again.
Until today, when I looked out and saw that he’s starting to lean the other way now.
I want to help as little as possible because I know it’s through this process that he’ll deepen his roots. Which, evidently is the main difference between the first tree and this one. Mr. 4 foot either reached a little too high, too fast with his branches and/or didn’t invest enough time on the deeper, wider reach of his roots.
Of course, I can’t deepen his roots for him and the more I add crutches, the less he’ll invest in root stability himself. On the other hand, I can’t just leave him toppled over… so there’s this delicate balance going on of letting him get knocked around by the elements and making sure he doesn’t topple over and die completely.
…An act I think about often as it relates to life.
There’s trying to help… and then there’s letting people help themselves.
The art of being actually helpful is in balancing these efforts mindfully.