What an Acorn can Teach You

An Oak tree is a daily reminder that great things often have small beginnings
Matshona Dhliwayo

The Oak is not born an Oak

Just think about it, the mighty oak tree starts off as a tiny acorn.

Before the oak tree has grown into a mighty oak tree, it starts out as a little acorn growing on a tree. From there it’s future all depends on what happens to it once it has fallen from the tree, as there is no guarantee that it too can become a mighty oak. Like any plant, the acorn needs to be nurtured, it needs to be watered, have the sunshine warm the earth, to help it grow into a strong tree.

Like the oak tree there is a little acorn growing within you, wanting to grow into a strong tree. It depends on you whether the acorn seed will grow into a mighty oak, or stay within you as a seed that never gets planted. As an idea that never gets realised or as unfulfilled potential.

How can you grow?

There was an action that caused the reaction of the acorn falling to the ground. Becasue for there to be new oak trees, the acorn needs to fall to the ground in order for it to grow. The acorn will fall to the ground either through the wind blowing or a bird shaking the branches. Hopefully it will drop onto fertile soil with enough shade and sunshine that will help it grow. 

You too will need an action in order for you and your inner seed to grow.

Action Needed to grow

• The action can be frustration in where you are right now in life.
• Wanting your situation to change
• Needing to create a change in your life.
• Feeling stuck.
• Wanting to improve your circumstances or even yourself?
• Unhappy with the way things look in your life, even something as small as a comment that is made to you?

Any multitude of things can trigger the seed to fall off the tree in your life and get planted. But before anything can happen, there needs to be the action first.

Like an acorn, your seed needs to be nurtured, it needs to be watered, sunshine needs to shine on it, and needs fresh air and it needs the weeds pulling out from around it so that it does not choke.

Growing into a mighty oak tree is not easy and it takes years. Growing your inner oak tree will not be easy and there will be many times when you might want to give up. But the rewards you will reap from your inner oak tree’s strength will outweigh the hardship.

Like the mighty oak tree your inner oak tree will start to grow with the right cultivation and encouragement. Slowly the roots will start to grow.

However big and strong the oak tree is, remember the Oak tree was not always such a big and strong tree. 

When it was a little sapling it was vulnerable to the environment. It could be eaten by the birds and deer, it could be trodden on by passing feet or hoofs. Die from lack of water or sunlight. Be smothered by falling leaves, grass, weeds etc. 

Once the sapling became a bit bigger and stronger it could have been chopped down in order to have a stick for walking. Even chopped down for firewood. If it avoided the walking stick and firewood, it could still be chopped down and made into furniture, or used to build houses. 

There are many reasons why it would not keep growing into the mighty oak tree, big and strong like it is supposed to. It takes years to become a mighty oak and yet it can take a moment and an action that stops it from fulfilling its purpose.

Just like the tree, your inner acorn seed needs to be looked after and nurtured. 

You need to surround yourself with sunshine through positive and helpful people, who will encourage and support your journey. You will need to thin out the weeds in your life, people who will smother you with ‘advice’, put you down at every opportunity for your ‘own good’ and keep telling you that you will fail. Weed out the people who don’t understand why you are changing and growing and wanting to improve your life. 

You need to feed your seed with water, in the form of good mindset books, videos, TED Talks, workshops even meditations or anything that will help you to find your path. You need to find what nurtures and helps you. 

Not everyone needs the same thing and some things will resonate with you and others will not. The point is that you find your ‘water’ where you can and to keep looking until you know what works. Maybe it is books, maybe audio books, seminars or videos, find the authors and speakers who you feel a connection with. They are your water for your seed.

Don’t forget that your sapling needs care, time and patience. Keep repeating all the things that you find are working for you, over and over again. Keep reading, keep patient, keep finding new people who encourage you, teachers who will guide you. Then, just like with the acorn you will find your seed develop into a sapling and will continue to get stronger and stronger.

In the beginning it will be hard. 

Anything can break your little sapling of growth, a word, a look or a negative comment, but on the other hand if you continue to build strong roots and keep nurturing your acorn, your growth and confidence will keep growing and not break so easily.

Word of warning, there will be setbacks that are all part of the journey. Think of it as a drought. Maybe you have been complacent and gotten comfortable, family, work or friends have taken up your time. Not been reading as much as you would like. There are many reasons why there would be a setback. But don’t worry, get back to it! Do those actions that helped you previously and you will find that this time it will be easier and you will go further and grow stronger.

Over the years the mighty oak has had to deal with a drought periods too, and it still grew into the mighty oak. You to can survive the drought periods.

Now imagine in years to come your oak tree is growing stronger and stronger, it does not bend in the wind, it does not break when you come across negativity. 

One of the things that an Oak tree is known for is that that it provides shelter in nature. You too can provide shelter. 

You can provide a home for people finding their way, you can help them nurture their own acorn, through mentoring and guidance. You can be the sunshine for another person’s acorn or sapling, by being positive through positive feedback, positive encouragement and teaching and showing them where to go and where to look.

Would  you like to be strong like a mighty oak? 

You can be if you just let that little acorn inside you grow and you too will become a mighty strong Oak tree.

Remember to live your life with confidence!

Chat soon

Natalie

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