By: Princess Coslett Natalie Chingoka
Who should be blamed when a leaf falls from a tree, is it the wind that blew it away? Or is it the tree that let it go?
Most people would answer: the wind for blowing the leaf away. Some overthinkers would go with: the tree, for not holding on tight enough because leaves sometimes fall without wind, hence it can only be the tree. However a user from Quora gave the most peculiar answer, he said, “Regardless, none of the OP’s 3 options are remotely close to reality. Leaves fall from trees due to cellular breakdown and degeneration or damage done to the stem that attached the leaf to the tree. Occasionally external forces can also remove leaves from trees, such as high intensity wind, sudden extreme heat or cold, or through predator attack.”Quite frankly I agree to some extent, none should be blamed, if it’s time for the leaf to fall then it’s time.
Now back to reality, this could be an analogy of people leaving our lives. The wind being a difficult situation, the tree being the individual and the leaf being a close person (be it a relative, a friend or a lover). First of all we can’t blame tough situations(wind) for pushing/pulling loved ones away from us for there’s a saying that goes, ‘When the days are dark, friends are few.’ It has become quite the norm that when troubles come people would often disassociate themselves from us, or completely ghost us! It’s natural really, happens more often than we think.
Moving on, we can’t blame ourselves for not holding on tight to them, or not trying hard enough to keep them in our lives. That would be desperation, which is really humiliating, besides, who has time for kunyengerera anyway? If it’s time then it’s time, they will go, just like Autumn comes and leaves fall of trees, tis the season and we can’t change anything or blame anyone. In a person’s life there comes seasons where people just seem to be leaving and distancing themselves unprovoked, it’s probably for the best. Perhaps the would have served their purpose already even though we might not see it, being clouded by emotions. We shouldn’t blame ourselves or the tough situation we’re facing at the time… People come and go, whilst real friends and family stuck around no matter how tough the current is. It’s all up to us to learn a lesson when people leave us, and be glad, because as circles grow smaller, the better it is to focus on our priorities! Learn a lesson from it, see the tree always stays standing tall even after 100 leaves fall from it, be the tree.
