You can't keep an orchard if your only skill is pruning. If all you know is how to snip off what you don't like, you will soon have deformed and stunted trees.  If you can't help but snip, you'll soon have nothing but stumps.

Growing a healthy orchard takes skill and hard work.  The wise person knows to nurture the whole tree: bud, leaf, and branch.  And she pays special attention to nourishing the root.  A tree well nourished needs little pruning.  It grows full and round and produces just as much fruit as it's branches could possibly hold.

Of course, I'm not really speaking of trees at all.  Rather, I'm taking about the orchard of people we've been given.  It's a tremendous tradgedy when we see the potential in those around us but only find in our hands tools to snip and trim.  The ways of coercion and control will never grow a healthy human.

Lay down negativity, criticism, sarcasim, and severity.   Sure, it means things will grow a little wild, but true life is a wild and wonderful thing.   Wonderous things always emerge when choose instead the nuturing tools of service, kindness, hope, and encouragement.  We will gain the penitrating and effective influence that comes from feeding human beings until they are whole.