When I first moved in, the lemon tree was full to the brim with lemons. It had all the right conditions for thriving.
The next year the neighbour cut down the large tree that had provided shade for the lemon tree. The strong sun burned the leaves of the lemon tree. The extra sun fueled the weeds and they grew fast, overtaking every branch and leaf of the lemon tree. The tree lost half its leaves and didn’t produce a single lemon. I didn’t water it, I didn’t pull the weeds. I just left it to survive under significant stress.
The next year the lemon tree seemed to shrink to half its size. I pulled some of the weeds, but I still didn’t water the tree. It managed to produce a few lemons. The tree was surviving despite the continued stress and now it was starting to cope, so it could produce a few lemons.
Every year, the tree continued to adjust and cope with the ongoing stress. It produces more and more lemons. But it does not grow. The tree is still only surviving because the stress has never stopped and I have not provided a way to relieve or counter the stress. Instead the tree has simply learned to cope. It is not thriving.
This year, I am regularly pulling the weeds and the rain has been good. The tree has already produced its first few lemons. While we can’t return the shade the tree once had, we will start to water the tree when summer arrives. For once the stress will be reduced and the tree might start to tip the balance from surviving and coping, to thriving. But it will take time for the tree to recover and fully thrive, even after the stress is reduced.
