A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and lay around it every day. He climbed to the tree top, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow... He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.
Time went by... the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree every day. One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad. “Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy. “I am no longer a kid, I don’t play around trees anymore.” The boy replied, “I want toys. I need money to buy them.” “Sorry, but I don’t have money...but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money.” The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.
One day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited. “Come and play with me,” the tree said. “I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?” “Sorry, but I don’t have a house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house.” So the boy cut all the branches off the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.
One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was delighted. “Come and play with me!” the tree said. “I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?” “Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.” So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time. The tree was happy, but it was not true.
Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I don’t have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you...” the tree said. >
“I don’t have teeth to bite,” the boy replied.
“No more trunk for you to climb on.”
“I am too old for that now,” the boy said.
“I really can’t give you anything... the only thing left is my dying roots,” the tree said with tears.
“I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years.” The boy replied.
“Good! Old tree roots is the best place to lean on and rest. Come, Come sit down with me and rest.” The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears...
This is a story of everyone. The tree is our parent. When we were young, we loved to play with Mom and Dad... When we grown up, we left them, and only came to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they could to make you happy. You may think that the boy is cruel to the tree but that’s how all of us are treating our parents.
Take time out during the day for quiet time to listen to your inner voice. You may want to use your quiet time to meditate or pray. However you use this time, the key is to shut out all of the noise around you by focusing deep within yourself. Breathing deeply during quiet time will also help you focus. I know it’s hard to find quiet time during a particularly busy day, but it’s so important — even if it’s just 10 minutes a day and you have to sneak away to get it. Quiet time can really make a difference in your life. It enables you to hear God speaking to your heart reminding you of His perfect love for you.
Be honest with yourself by paying attention to your actions. Actions speak louder than words, and they always tell the truth. What do your actions say about you? If you say you love your job, but your actions say otherwise, which do you think is more true — your words or your actions? On the other hand, if you say you’re not good at a certain job, but your actions say otherwise, that’s also important. What do you do with this insight? You can use it to make more beneficial choices in your life. By being honest with yourself based on your previous actions, your actions moving forward will be based on truth instead of just what you tell yourself.
Despite what your subconscious may be telling you, you can have love with no limits. The key is to unconditionally love yourself first.
译文:
苹果树
很久很久以前，有那么一棵很是茂盛的苹果树。一个小男孩总喜欢每天跑来绕着苹果树玩耍。他喜欢爬到树顶，吃苹果，在树荫下打瞌睡……小男孩很喜欢这棵苹果树，而苹果树也喜欢和他一起玩。
时间流逝。这个小男孩渐渐长大，也不再每天来和苹果树一起玩耍。
一天，小男孩来找苹果树，他看起来很不开心。
苹果树对小男孩说：“来跟我一起玩吧。”
“我已经不再是小孩子了，我不再和你们一起玩了。”小男孩回答说，“我想要玩具。我需要钱来买玩具。”
“对不起，可我没钱。但是你可以摘我的苹果去卖。那样，你就有钱了”。
小男孩非常高兴。他摘了树上所有的苹果，高高兴兴地离开。可是，他再也没有回来过。苹果树伤心了。
过了段时间，小男孩来了，苹果树非常高兴地对他说：“来和我一起玩吧。”
“我没有时间跟你玩。我要为我的家庭工作。我们需要一座房子。你能帮我吗？”
“对不起，我没有房子。但是你可以砍掉我的树枝来造房子。”
然后，男孩砍掉了苹果树所有的树枝，开开心心地走了。看到男孩开心，苹果树非常欣慰，但是从此之后，男孩再也没回来过。苹果树感到非常孤单伤心。
一个炎热的夏天，男孩又来了，苹果树看到他非常开心。他说：“过来和我一起玩吧。”
“我很伤心，而且渐渐老去。我想出航来放松下自己。你能给我一艘船吗？”
“用我的树干来造你的船吧。你可以航行到很远的地方，过得很开心。”
于是，男孩就砍掉了苹果树的树干并造了一艘船。他驶船出海，之后很长时间都没有再露过面。苹果树看似没事，其实却非常伤心。
终于，在许多年之后，男孩又再次回来了。
“对不起，我的孩子。我已经没有任何东西可以给你了。再没有苹果给你。。。”苹果树说。
“我已经没有牙齿来吃苹果了。”男孩回答。
“再没有树干可以让你攀爬。”
“我已经老得爬不动了。”
“我真的已经给不了你任何东西了。。。唯一剩下的就是我干枯的树根，”苹果树含泪说到。
“我不需要太多的东西，我只想要个栖身的地方。经历这么多年后，我已经很累了。”
“好！老树根是最好的栖身之所。过来吧，靠着我好好休息。”男孩靠着苹果树坐了下来，苹果树含泪笑了。
这个故事发生在我们每个人身上。那棵树就是我们的父母。小时候，我们喜欢跟父母一起玩；当我们渐渐长大后，就离开了他们，只在我们需要某些东西或遇到麻烦的时候才会再次回到他们身边。不管怎样，父母总是会在那儿，给予我们所有能让我们快乐的东西。你也许会认为那个男孩对苹果树太残忍，但你是否想过，那就是我们一直对待父母的方式。
每天空出一段时间来让自己沉淀，倾听内心真实的声音，我们可以称之为“入静时间”。你可能会用这段时间来冥想或祈祷。但不管怎样，关键是你要集中注意力别让外界干扰。多做深呼吸会帮助你集中注意力。我知道从特别忙碌的一天中空出一段安静时间很难，但这非常重要，哪怕只有10分钟也好，挤也要挤出来。入静时间能让你的生活与众不同。它让你听到上帝的声音，让你深信他会永远庇佑着你。
对自己诚实，时刻关注自己的行为。行为比说话更具说服力，因为它们往往体现了事实。你的行为体现什么呢？如果你说热爱工作，但你的行为刚好相反，那么到底哪个更可信呢――你说的话还是做的事？另一方面，如果你说你不擅长某方面的工作，但你的行为刚好相反，那也同样重要。你会如何运用洞察力呢？洞察力能帮助你做很多明智的决定。对自己诚实基于以往的行为，而行为的改进基于事实而不是你所说的话。
不管你的潜意识告诉你什么，你都可以拥有无尽的爱。前提是你要先学会无条件地爱自己。