The Gardener |
| Posted by Mark (mark) on Mar 31 2008 at 8:28 PM |
A wise man once asked a question of his pupils. He said, “A gardener tended two lush gardens. Plant life grew abundantly in both, and like all gardens, they included weeds. The first garden had many weeds strong and tall, choking off and shading the other plants. The second garden had many weeds also, but none had penetrated the surface yet; they lay beneath the ground, the roots growing and establishing themselves among the other plants. Now here is my question: which of these two gardens is healthier?”
Many of the pupils all chimed in quickly, “The second is better off.”
“Why?” asked the wise man.
“Because the weeds are not nearly as bad in the second. They have yet to break the surface. While in the first garden the weeds are tall and strong, stealing light and food from the other plants.”
Then a student who had been silently pondering the question spoke up. “I believe the second garden is worse off,” he stated to the amused looks of his peers.
“Why?” asked the wise man.
“I believe my contemporaries have overlooked one crucial aspect of your story.”
“And what would that be?” queried the wise man smiling.
“The gardener. They’ve overlooked the gardener.”
“What’s he got to do with anything?” decried the other students.
“Well everything. If he is a good gardener, and we shall assume he is, then he will surely notice the life stealing weeds in the first garden. And if he sees them, being a good gardener; will he not remove them? But the second garden is different. The weeds are already growing and establishing their roots; displacing the roots of the good plants and stealing their precious water. And what will the gardener do about this?”
“Nothing I suppose, he can’t see them,” answered a classmate from the now quiet group.
“Exactly. Even if he knew the weeds were there, he couldn’t do anything. For if he tried to dig them up he would kill all the good plants in the process. There is nothing to be done with them until they break the surface.”
“Well done,” said the wise man. “The weeds cannot even be removed until they grow to be quite strong. For if you attempt to uproot it when it first breaks the surface, you will only break off the top, leaving the roots behind. That is why the gardener is a good gardener: he let the weeds in the first garden grow strong enough to pull them up, roots and all.”
“But what of the good plants? Won’t they die waiting for the weeds to be uprooted?”
“No, for the gardener takes special care of them. Feeding them extra water, pruning them and so on.”
“Master?” asked one of the students, “What does this have to do with life?”
“You are the gardens, I am the gardener. That which is denied cannot be uprooted.”
