The Apple and The Tree

What happens when the apple falls from the tree? Albeit, the landing spot may not be very far away, the apple still one day will grow into it's own tree. It can either take root the same way as it's predecessor, or it can take root and branch out in an entirely new fashion. No matter how you look at it, the apple that fell will still grow to be an apple tree like unto that from which it fell; there will be no sudden turning into a peach or pear tree, no matter what kind of nurturing it gets from the earth or any other outside force. BUT, the apple has a chance to roll with the bumps in the ground and decide how it's going to improve the way it will grow and how it can improve upon the fruit that it will soon bear.

Something I only just began to realise in full is how I truly feel sad for my Dad. He has spent 82 years of his life in fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of outside wrong-doers, even fear of the good things - seeing even the smallest possibility of what could be bad in something entirely good - all due to circumstantial programming since the time of his childhood. He has carried this complex with him and force-fed it to everyone who has entered into his life. There are times when it will come out in discussion or in certain actions of his when it's very easy to see that he is still heavily weighted down by his past. Things he could not control and things he did not do were somehow etched into his memory board with the words "This bad thing happened because of YOU." At that point, I can see how one might take the inadvertent insult to existence to heart and therefore produce a sour harvest or two.
It amazes me (for lack of a more poignant word) that for all my distress and complex issues I've carried through my life thus far, I have managed to get most of them under control...whereas the things that he has had to cope with, or should have coped with, are still as strong at the surface now as when they first traumatized his being. It makes me wonder if maybe there's something that can be done even now, to help him come to terms with things while he's still cognizant. What has made him hold on to these feelings so long? Will I be the same at his age? Will I learn to let go completely or will I still hold on to the things of the past? The interesting thing is that though we've had to try to hold our ground and branch out despite the storms, it is the storms that help us grow, they are what strengthen us. Beneath the hard exterior is the intricately developed interior. It is our choice as to whether or not we welcome the storm and learn how to use what it brings to us.