Drew Mearns: Acorns and Oak Trees

Part 2 of an interview for the Spirituality and Sustainability Global Network

For more than 20 years since retiring from the management of elite, professional athletes, Drew Mearns has helped parents, coaches, high school teams and club programs improve performance, attitudes, and college opportunities for young distance runners. Through proven principles, programs and practice strategies, Drew has developed and grown runners (including five of his own children) into some of the top youth and high school distance runners and teams in the country.

“…Even Gurdjieff talks about that. He asks one of his students how many acorns he believes are in the oak tree out the window. The student says he doesn’t know, so Gurdjieff asks again. The student answers, “Probably thousands.” Gurdjieff asks, “Well, how many do you think will become a tree?” The student replies that maybe 5 will, and Gurdjieff asks, “What if it is only one?” All those thousands of acorns, all of us human beings…some of us will mature in one way and some in another way. Even the acorns that die will fertilize the lives of the others. It’s a beautiful thought, not only the Aristotelian idea that inside of us and inside that acorn is an oak tree, but also Gurdjieff contributing that we might not all be oak trees or Olympic champions or financially successful. We’re here to become that, or maybe in our love become part of the fertilizer for someone else to achieve a kind of greatness. We’re in this all together. It’s beautiful to think about.”

Read the rest HERE.