This week I was reminded of a wonderful Dutch saying my God-father taught me, which is “the tallest trees catch the most wind”.  My God-father is also my uncle and one of my most favourite, favourite people in the world.  He is also jolly clever and valued for his business brain.  As a result of this cleverness, he was working on a project in Holland years ago, and we spent a weekend together there, with my aunt too.  I will somehow never forget this particular conversation, and this week, I was happy about that.

The three of us were sitting on a canal boat drinking tea in Delft, Holland at the height of summer.  My uncle, Dominic, and I were chatting about business matters (one of the things I love to talk about – pretending of course that I know what it is I am talking about), and I was telling him how much criticism a high profile businessman was receiving at the time in Johannesburg, and how I didn’t understand it.  Although my uncle has lived outside of Africa for decades, he knew this chap and was listening with interest as I was defending an individual who I felt was being unfairly burnt at the business stake.  He said very casually, “well my darling, there is a saying here in Holland that is ‘The tallest trees catch the most wind’ and that is what is happening here”.  I asked him to explain to me what he meant, and he did.  Dominic said, quite simply, that when an individual achieves great things, makes a difference or indeed, “stands out and above” the rest, like the proverbial tallest tree, they “catch the most wind” i.e. they are the most challenged, the most criticized, the most judged.  He agreed with me that it is not fair, but he told me that whether I like it or not, it is human nature.

We hear that people criticise us to bring us down, or judge us because of their own “stuff” and I guess this was true of this individual years ago, and at some time in all of our lives, it will be true for us too.  We will be knocked down, we will be caught by the wind that is criticism, and unkindness, and disapproval. 

What was also explained to me that day is that it takes a lot for those tall trees to be uprooted.  They may sway and twist in the wind, but they remain rooted where they are and remain true to their nature – their leaves fall when they are supposed to and new growth arrives on time too – wind or not. 

Dominic said to me that even when the time comes when I catch the winds of criticism, no matter what happens, I must remain rooted, I must remain true to myself and realise a wonderful thing has happened, because “only the tallest trees catch the most wind”.