There’s a tree in my back garden that is almost fruitless. It has one cluster of small green apples, misshapen and stuck together, and not ripening. And then, in the expanse of many green leaves and twigs there’s one other apple. It’s beautifully round and large, and I don’t say it’s perfect, but it’s certainly a very good apple.

“Good job, Tree,” I whisper. It is impressive to do one thing really well, to grow that one good apple.

Too often personally, I take on so many little things, try to focus in so many directions at once, that my apples end up small and misshapen. I live on the scattered surface of life, instead of looking and living more deeply, more slowly, with focus and peace.

Sometimes I think we need to give ourselves permission to be very small, to live slowly and deeply in our little corner of the world. To have the humility to just do our little thing, and the hope to know that our little thing really matters, and is worth doing well.

When we busy ourselves so much with external things, we forget to nourish and explore the treasure within. It is this interior life that gives depth and meaning to all we do, and brings us happiness and peace in the most diverse circumstances.

It’s important to be still, to spend time in solitude and in contemplation. In this quiet we become more aware of the beauty surrounding us, and of the way we want to respond to it. Chances are we’ll find the seed of one good apple, that unique fruit we have to offer the world.