08/08/2026
From Seed to Shade: The Patience of Tāne
We live in a world that wants everything now.
Results now.
Recognition now.
Success now.
But some of the most important things in life don’t work on that timeline.
My tūpuna crossed Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa without ever seeing where they were going.
No maps.
No certainty.
They trusted the stars, the swell, the birds… and they kept paddling.
I think about that often because I was never naturally good at waiting.
But looking back, nearly everything meaningful in my life came from planting something before I could see the result.
Training for a marathon at thirteen.
Years of apprenticeship before becoming qualified.
Building businesses from a desk and a phone before anyone could see what they might become.
People see the shade.
They rarely see the seeds.
The quiet work.
The mistakes.
The years where nothing seems to be happening.
That reminds me of planting trees with my mum when I was about twelve.
It was just a Saturday.
A spade.
A few young trees.
Dirt under the nails.
The fruit trees are still there today.
Many of the others we planted for shade grew so big they eventually had to be removed.
Mum is gone now.
But the trees remain.
Every year they still produce fruit.
Whatungarongaro te tangata, toitū te whenua.
People pass away, but the land remains.
She planted something she would never fully enjoy.
That idea has stayed with me.
Maybe that is what legacy really is.
Not building something only for ourselves.
But planting things that others will benefit from long after we are gone.
The older I get, the more I think success isn’t measured by the fruit we eat.
It’s measured by the shade we leave behind.
Some seeds are not meant to feed you.
Some are meant to become shade.
The full post is here: https://anchorsinthestars.wordpress.com/2026/08/08/from-seed-to-shade/
