Karate-Do highlight #56: The Japanese Maple
I had always enjoyed the sight of a Japanese maple tree and wanted one of my own. Every Japanese maple tree I came across was so full, always in a unique shape of growth and life. Not to mention, red is my favorite color and freshly grown Japanese maple leaves display a beautiful, bright shade of red that I had to have! Any home they stood in front of, captured my attention. So I did my research and began my hunt. To my dismay, I quickly understood that trees are very expensive. So I searched online, hoping I might come across a clearance sale or find some way, I could snag one of those beauties for a more reasonable cost. And there it was, priced at a very low cost of $59.99, found at the unlikely website of home depot. There was no time to lose, add to cart and the two week wait for it to arrive at my door began.
Two weeks past and the moment had come for me to put on my gardening gloves and put my fresh gardening tools to use. I opened the door expecting a box bursting with bright red, crimson leaves but instead found something that looked more like it needed to be pulled from a garden rather than planted in one. I quickly understood why the cost was so low to begin with, It was no tree at all! It was a baby shrub at best. I suppose I should have read the fine print.
Alas, I am not one to throw in the towel. As planned, I put on my gloves and dug a home for my brand new, baby, Japanese maple tree. It was so brittle, so weak and so much in need of constant care. To my surprise, as time went on, I began to enjoy the constant up keep the baby tree needed and how satisfying it was to watch it grow. A bright red new leaf! A new stem! An inch taller! My hard work was starting to pay off as it showed constant growth.
Years passed and it required my attention still but it required less of it as it was beginning to take on a more self sufficient role as most trees do. Its stems have become branches, its bright red leaves have darkened, its base has become thick and strong to withstand mother nature and Is becoming the tree I invisioned from the beginning. Regardless of how it has flourished, I will keep my eye on it ensuring it grows strong, straight and tall and if it needs a course correction, I will be there to straighten it out, trim weakened stems or provide water on days it cannot water itself. How much I have learned and been able to witness along its journey has been unexpectedly enjoyable and insightful. Which I would have not been able to experience had I gotten my way from the start. The story of the Japanese maple sounds familiar, doesn't it? Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Sensei
