Tag Archives: Change and Personal Empowerment

The Tree Most Pruned (continued)

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Back to Part 1

Adapting Without Complaint And Still Picture Perfect

That mighty tree once filled with fruit now stands there with only her leaves to cover her but is still picture perfect with or without fruit.  If only we could learn to be content with the natural order and know that we are still perfect with or without our stuff.  The tree adapts naturally to its changing conditions. The trees once verdant leaves change from green to brilliant autumn colors as she shares her beauty with all who will just take the time to appreciate it.  However, even this condition is short lived, because before long the strong winds come and strip her of even her leaves.   But, the tree just stands there proud and naked and interestingly still picture perfect.  Stripped of everything, the tree has yet another challenge to face.  For now the tree must be trimmed or pruned to prepare for the next season of her life and again she accepts her pruning gracefully without complaint.  Finally nature brings  a blast of cold air and a season of ice and snow, but the tree stands tall covered with snow, not fighting change but instead adapting naturally to whatever happens.

The Universe Will Provide

Eventually the snow melts, new buds begin to appear, and in due time the tree is covered with fruit again.  But, because of the pruning, this time the tree bears even more fruit then the past year. The tree is under the protection of mother nature, and unlike human beings, does not have free will or a conscious mind.  It can’t hoard it’s fruit, complain about being stripped down to nothing, fear the changing seasons, refuse to face a winter naked or cold, or doubt the eventual advent of a new spring.  The universe provides all that it needs and even without human intelligence, it knows.   And in time, the tree buds and blooms again.

Each Season Prepares Us for the Next

And, so it is with us humans.  Those most tested, those facing the most difficulties with grace, and those who endure patiently their challenges, seem to bear the best fruit.  They are more aware, appreciative, sensitive, forgiving, loving, and caring.  They grow stronger with each test they face with grace and gratitude.  So whether you are in your spring, summer, autumn, or winter of your life, realize that each season prepares you for a better season.  And remember, “The tree most pruned bears the best fruit.”

I’m Barbara Talley, The Poet who speaks and inspires.   To find more about me, check out my promo sheet or visit  my website.

The Tree Most Pruned Bears the Best Fruit

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When I was growing up in upstate New York in the late 50’s and 60’s, we did a lot of migrant work on farms.  During the summer and fall we’d pick various fruits and vegetables and in the winter we’d trim trees.  We sat a ladder on the tree, climbed up with a saw, and cut off all the limbs that were growing in the wrong direction.  It was always freezing cold and the days were long.  It also wasn’t the most pleasant way to spend your weekends, yet that’s what we all did.  The entire family worked and we did whatever work we could find and we worked together.  Most saw it as menial labor and often we were kidded and looked down on, but as my dad always said, “It’s an honest living.”

Today as I was thinking about why we are forced to face so many challenges in life,  I reflected back on my childhood experience of trimming trees.  I thought about the life of a tree.  Through this personification I got a totally new perspective about why I should view life’s natural changes not as challenges, but instead as new growth opportunities.  For surely if the fruit tree never sacrificed her harvest and was unwilling to be stripped of her leaves and pruned, she would never see a new harvest that was more abundant than the one before.

A Harvest or Letting Go Is Necessary

In the summer the branches of the trees were abundantly filled with fruits.  The tree was as a mother giving birth. We’d come and take the harvest that she’d created.  Although the trees looked picture perfect with their fruit,  if we didn’t pick the fruit in time, they’d rot on the trees.  Others would drop off by themselves giving back to the earth that gave it life without asking.  In the life of a fruit tree a harvest and a letting go is necessary.  In the life of a human letting go is also necessary.

It appears that planting seeds of faith, fertilizing and protecting them, harvesting our fruits (dreams, goals, vision, ideas, service, calling, talents, and relationships), and then being willing to let go when it’s time is the natural order of life.  I reflected on how many of my new dreams would have gone unrealized if I had not had been willing to let go of the past or detach myself from the way things were. Ecclesiastes 3 sums it up.  (Continue to part 2)

3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

I’m Barbara Talley, The Poet who speaks and inspires.   To find more about me, check out my promo sheet or visit  my website.

3 Steps to Move from Mediocrity to Meaning (part 2)

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  1. Dig Inside (from part 1)
  2. Discover Your Greatness. Discovery is a process, not an event and it requires faith.  “Mining to discover your true reality is hard work.  It’s even harder if, 1)you don’t have the faith that you’ll really find anything of value, 2) you don’t know what you’re mining for, or 3) you are mining in the wrong place. Only those who dig in the right place and who also have that child-like unwavering faith to persist against all odds will ever find the object of their quest.” [From Miner Miracles]     It also  takes time, effort, and focus. Everyone has something great inside of them waiting to be discovered. We are made from greatness for greatness.  We were created noble.  We are like mines “rich in gems of inestimable value.1″  Ultimately you will find what you are looking for, but only if you are looking for it.  If you are looking for mediocrity, you will find it.  If you are looking for greatness, that will become the essence of your dreams and your reality.
  3. Dazzle the World with Your Brilliance– Oprah once said to a person she was interviewing, “Your future is so bright that it’s burning my eyes.”  Your future too has the potential to be just that bright!  Now this is the part where you figure out how to shine, excel, and radiate with joy and happiness.  That’s the goal of life, to do something so exciting that the deed is its own reward.  We were not created to be bored, dreamless, desperate or depressed.  This life is a gift to each of us and digging within and finding our own jewels is the most exciting journey from mediocrity to meaning that you can imagine.

*1 Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings CXXII

I’m Barbara Talley, The Poet who speaks and inspires.   To find more about me, check out my promo sheet or visit  my website.

The First Secret to Moving Beyond Mediocrity

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Do you know what moves a person beyond mediocrity?

It is the size of their dreams.  Puny dreams have no power to propel us beyond mediocrity.  I dare you to dream and to dream big and not find yourself getting more excited and more attractive in the process.  One of the books that inspired me in my youth was, ‘The Magic of Thinking Big.’  While the faithless may try to convince you that you are dreaming too big,  dreaming too big is not usually the problem.  Instead it is not having a dream at all or not dreaming big enough that causes more failures.  My own life attests to these principles.  I was a single mom living in the Projects of Upstate New York, surrounded by naysayers.  Mediocrity was everywhere and was the norm.

I had to consciously dream bigger.

I share this journey out of mediocrity in my book, On Track On Fire On Purpose.  I learned to listen to motivational people and read motivational books.  I still get inspired by others.   Mary Morrissey talks about making a ‘Quantum Leap in 2011′, Les Brown talks about ‘It’s Possible.’ Clif McKnight talks about, ‘If You Can’t Calm the Waters- Learn to Ride the Waves. Inspiration is everywhere. Once we’ve got the right dream, we need the right map, the right mentors, and the right muses.  Stay tuned.

I’m Barbara Talley, The Poet who speaks and inspires.   To find more about me, check out my promo sheet or visit  my website.

Wanted One Mediocre Person

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Now is not the time to abandon your dreams or your drive.

When you abandon your dreams, your drive, energy, and excitement wane too.  And that is precisely when you need more drive, energy, and excitement, for they attract opportunities to you.  Okay, so you’ve suffered a setback and things haven’t turned out the way you’ve planned.  Perhaps you’re tired, anxious, and feel like you’ve been backed into a corner.  You feel like you should just give in and accept anything.  But just anything won’t fill your spirit, move you closer to your dreams, or inspire you to move beyond mediocrity.

We were born to find meaning.

We were born to make a difference and to matter. And, people who are dreamers themselves like to be around other people who have faith in themselves and who are pursuing or living their dreams.

People without dreams are people without faith.

Faith inspires us to dream and to believe that anything is possible.  That feeling of faith energizes us and people are looking for that energy.  You’ll never see an ad that is searching for “One Mediocre Person.”  No one gets excited about someone  who has no dreams, no passion, or no purpose.  You’ll also never find a person intentionally looking for a friend, colleague, or life  partner who has no passion or purpose for life unless they have given up themselves and don’t want reminders of their faithlessness around them.   Misery does love company and it just takes too much energy to keep a dreamless person and yourself motivated.   It is our passion for life that makes us attractive to others, whether it is an employer, mate,  or as a friend.  People with inspired dreams and visions are magnets and they attract opportunity to them.  You’ve got a choice; do you want to be mediocre or magnetic?

Thanks for your comments

I’m Barbara Talley, The Poet who speaks and inspires.   To find more about me, check out my promo sheet or visit  my website.