The Parable of Wondering Grove
Alex Maegdlin | May 1, 2026
Once upon a time, in a valley abundant with flourishing gardens, there stood a small, vibrant garden called Wondering Grove. For many seasons, it had been a cherished place of growing, where 250 young saplings grew under the care of devoted gardeners.
But as the years passed, the grove began to show signs of distress. Soil health had been neglected and the nutrients were becoming depleted. Additionally, more fields for growing saplings were being cultivated nearby. Despite aiming to sow as many seeds as ever, fewer saplings grew each season—first 200, then 150, then barely 100.
Some gardeners, seeing the soil growing thin and the resources scarce, departed for more fertile gardens. At the same time, the river that once roared nearby was dammed upstream and what once flowed as a mighty river, bringing vitality to this portion of the valley, now meandered as a tiny stream.
The Council of Elders, entrusted as guardians of the grove, gathered to discuss the state of affairs. The current gardeners presented the number of this year’s saplings. They reported that they had planted many seeds, but only a few had taken root.
One ambitious young gardener suggested a new approach to growing saplings. “Perhaps we could try hydroponic gardening. Perhaps we could cultivate the growth of saplings across the country with this approach?”
“How could we ever be Wondering Grove if our saplings are not in our special grove,” exclaimed some members of the Council of Elders.
The Council of Elders decided that the path forward was to radiate out the story of Wondering Grove’s former abundance. Surely, if the seeds just knew how beautifully and abundantly our saplings once grew, they, too, would put down roots and grow here.
When the First Elder of the Council, weary from watching three predecessors abandon their posts in despair, cast out to learn from other gardens in the region, that Elder returned excitedly discussing a beautiful new garden upriver that was interested in transplanting Wondering Grove’s gardeners and saplings to their verdant soil. This new garden had heard of Wondering Grove’s resplendent history and accompanying wisdom and wanted to join forces.
When I worked there, enrollment was already a challenge. We talked about telling the story better—improving the website, sharpening the value proposition. Important work, and necessary. But even then, there were deeper forces at play.
“Abandon our beautiful garden!?” exclaimed more than half the other Elders. “We could never!” And so, after a narrowly split vote, they declined the offer.
Courageously, seeing no way forward, the First Elder then called for a solemn vote to close Wondering Grove with dignity. Again the Council split like a tree struck by lightning. Half saw wisdom in allowing time for the remaining gardeners to find new positions and helping the few remaining saplings transplant to healthier soil. The other half, still convinced that the grove just needed new gardeners, continued trying to nurture the depleted soil.
The First Elder, heartbroken, departed.
The Second Elder, who rose to lead, believed that the Founders of old, those who had planted the first seeds decades ago, might be stirred from their slumber with passionate pleas. But these Founders had long since planted new groves or retired from cultivation, and their ears were closed to such entreaties.
Meanwhile, the Chief Gardener, whose sporadic tending had contributed to the grove’s decline, slipped away to tend another garden, leaving behind withered plants, depleted soil, and exhausted gardeners.
The Council, feeling they had run out of options, invited back a former Chief Gardener who had been replaced for poor tending. “Perhaps,” they reasoned in their enchanted state, “she will restore our former glory,” afterall, she knew the grove so well.
When the new season began, only 54 saplings remained where once 250 had flourished. Tended by tired, determined gardeners.
None of these are simple. None are quick fixes. But together, they point to something deeper than strategy alone. They point to coherence.
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