Journey of a Thousand Apples

A thousand apples - Sawbuck Do Jang

It takes a while to pick up a thousand apples.

It must take the tree quite some time to drop them, too; let alone to grow them! The base of the tree slowly fills with the drops. Wind and rain bring them down, sometimes they just plop.

It is the Yin/Yang of my backyard, the apple tree with its laden branches and endless culls.

This is what life does. It brings me apples, in whatever form they may take. Accumulating or dispersing as I watch.

I notice it now, as I cleared the tree this morning. The change from full to empty was obvious. The darker green of the grass had shown little mounds of pale green. There is no red in the apples yet. After picking up all the pale bumps, the dark green fills the space beneath the tree, again just grass, ready for the next drops to empty down from the tree.

I counted my bucket as I filled it. There were over 150 apples that I picked up from the ground in one bucket. Last time I hauled away four buckets. (you do the math) This time, when I approached seven buckets, I knew that I had picked up a thousand apples. What is hard to believe is that there are several thousand more apples still on the tree.

I admire the strength of Nature. Its fullness. Changes flowing, apparent, yet sneaking past. I try “to pay attention to the slightest change from full to empty” (Song of the Thirteen Influences). But it sneaks up and flies past.

It is summer. The garden is full. The Apple tree is full. Having shared this bounty with children at the Do Jang for the last two years, I know there will be mouths and eyes looking for the basket full of apples. They will empty it, then repeat, cycling from full to empty and back.

The Yin/ Yang circle turns! Filling stomachs, hearts, baskets and more, on a journey of a thousand apples!