In this week's episode I tell the story of our fig trees. If you listened to our episode where we tell you about the gentleman who joined our property a year or so ago, you will hear about a wonderful neighbour who brought us a rooster, left him in the coop to start flirting with the hens, and left while we were still attempting to wake up.

This same neighbour brought us a jar of fig preserve, the next year a bag of fresh figs, and then decided it might be a good idea if we came and fetched our own trees from his property.

And so we did.

A couple of young trees were planted and watered, and even though the winters are cold and summers are harsh they seem to hold on.

But, and here is the but… they are not thriving. Minimal care, an occasional rain shower, some shade from bigger trees, warmer weather in spring — that is actually not enough for these little trees to grow big and strong and reach a stage where they will start producing.

At some point this year I realised that if I really wanted them to be something, become solid trees that bear fruit, I will need to invest more time. Love, energy, care.

Funny how that works for relationships too, isn't it?

The bare minimum leaves us with the bare minimum of comfort, care, and love.

I received a surprise telephone call from a friend I have now known for more than 20 years. We went to school together, then lost touch, then met up again. We say hi on voice notes and share links to songs we think the other will enjoy. She decided to do the thing we, as modern humans, forgot our phones can actually handle — she made a phone call and we chatted for almost an hour!

She invested time, she actively nourished a relationship, fought the neglect.

If these were her fig trees, I'm sure she would have had jam by now.

Let's not forget to pay attention to the things we say we care about. And not be surprised when we do not remember the name of the thing we used to buy, the place we liked going to, or worse, the whereabouts of the people we cared about at some stage.

Neglect happens slowly, and then it happens fast.

And when you wake up one day and realise a part of your life went missing, no amount of fond memories will be enough. Pay attention to your relationships.

Remember to water the figs.

Enjoy your Journey!

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