These pictures are here only so I can use the URL to put them in the body of an email to the people who own the land where I live, instead of including them as attachments. They are just showing some of the pear trees after pruning.

This tree is my favorite on the farm. It fell over years ago (now having what I can only describe as a 'pimp lean') but is still doing exceptionally well. It was the most productive pear tree we had last year, and it looks like its straight out of a Japanese tea garden when it is in bloom. Perhaps Ill post some pictures in the spring time of it in its flowery beatitude.


This tree had not been pruned in a long time, and the majority of its branches were completely vertical and far beyond the reach of even Yao Ming on his tiptoes. They also were very tangled which inhibits the air flow that buds need to be pollinated. So we basically capped the top and left only the horizontal branches and older buds. Over the next few years these will bulk up and this tree will be back in action.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
-Kahlil Gibran

Though the branches are hard to see in this photo because they blend in with the blueberry patch just behind, this tree had a similar problem. Far too much vertical growth and tangled branches.

"In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer"
-Albert Camus

And like most things on my blog I cannot help but tie all of this into the bigger picture of what is going on in this thing called Reality.
This Winter I have been thinking a lot about beginnings and endings, sounds and silences, births and deaths; how one implies the existence of the other.

Yet we live in a culture that wants vine ripe tomatoes all year long in the grocery store. We desire to be 'happy all the time' and have every day be lovely and inspiring.
And this is all in good intentions of course.

However it is unreasonable. It is an irrational and dis-empowering view of reality. I think the first step is to accept, wholeheartedly, that everything is perfect. Just fine and dandy.
Yep, all of it.
Even that thought saying, "this isnt perfect you are crazy?!"
that is the perfect thought to be thinking now.
Now I am not saying that it all tastes good- that things like Katrina, cholera, serial killers, etc. are just delightful. No, that is not my definition of perfect.
What I'm saying is imagine if everyone were happy all the time. Could that even exist? How could you call it happy if you had no sad to compare it to?
Imagine if a song had no spaces between the notes. Could you have a melody?
Harmony without discord?
Sages without fools?
Yummy without yucky?

You get it.

Variety is the spice of life! This constant pull of dualism makes the cosmic drama interesting. How lovely it is to watch this Earth reawaken in Spring!
So there is no sense in grieving in its slumber.
There is no sense in grieving in your peculiarities or shortcomings,
for verily they imply your flawlessness.

But this acknowledgment of the wholeness and perfection in duality raises another question:
What is that in which the dualities exist?
What is that canvas on which they are painted?
The substratum that they both grow out of?


I think Ramana Maharshi answered this question when he said:

'Enquiring within Who is the seer? I saw the seer disappear leaving That alone which stands forever. No thought arose to say I saw. How then could the thought arise to say I did not see?'.