This beautiful metaphor by Master Anthropis of a tree’s journey reflects the cyclical nature of our spiritual growth and evolution, from seeking the light to becoming a beacon of light:
I plant myself within the soil of knowledge,
and my roots sprout first.
I grow towards the light.My roots stretch out to expand and gather together that knowledge,
in order so that my trunk can grow.My leaves are forming now to feed my body.
I am changing as time goes on.I see the light, yet I cannot feel it.
The day shall come when I shall bask in that light.I’m a full-grown tree spreading my branches out,
yet I have not bear forth my fruit.Yet something inside of me tells me that when I do,
it shall be a sad experience of loss.It is now the time that I do so bear forth my fruit.
I know that I shall lose that fruit,
and the sadness that I feel is not sadness at all now.
It’s a quiet solidarity of knowing
that my fruit too now must go through
the process of growth that I have gone through.I now know that a little part of myself
shall be planted within the soil of knowledge,
and it shall sprout forth its roots,
and as those roots grow,
a leaf shall appear and grow towards the sun.
In the beginning, we plant ourselves in the soil of knowledge, seeking truth and nourishment from understanding our experiences. Driven by focus, effort, and discipline, our roots are the first to grow and become the foundation of our spiritual evolution as we reach toward the light of higher consciousness.
As our trunk rises and leaves unfold, we begin to change; we become more aware, more sensitive to the consciousness of the soul, even if we cannot yet fully see it. This is the quiet season of becoming, where growth is steady, purposeful, and often unseen.
In time, our consciousness matures and expands, bearing fruit to the world—symbolic of insight, love, compassion, and wisdom. Yet, with this fruition comes a sadness: the realization that our fruit is not ours to keep. True spiritual growth involves letting go, releasing what we’ve cultivated so it may plant seeds in others.
The sadness of loss transforms into a quiet solidarity, a knowing that the cycle must continue. Part of ourselves is passed on, entrusted to the next stage of life. This is the joy of spiritual growth, sharing the wisdom so that others may grow forth.
Spiritual growth is not about gathering but about releasing. It is not the pursuit of knowledge or the accumulation of spiritual achievements. It is about releasing the wisdom of the soul. Our light and wisdom are for the benefit of all humanity. And so, like the tree, we come to understand: the point was never to keep the fruit, but simply to bear it—to nourish others, so that they may grow in their own time, in their own soil.
Grow in light and grow in peace.
** Master Anthropis is a master teacher who spoke at the Agasha Temple of Wisdom.
