Cultivate

Yesterday I presented the word of the day at the Toastmasters Club meeting. The word I said was Cultivate. Cultivate means: To prepare or work on land in order to raise crops. To promote or improve the growth of a plant or crop by labor and attention. To develop or improve by education or training. To devote oneself to an art or science. I was reminded of this word when some tomatoes were given to our family by our neighbour. The sight of the vibrant,red, juicy tomatoes reminded me that the tomatoes were the result of careful cultivation by the farmer who tilled the soil, planted the seeds or sapling, watered it and protected it. It also reminded me of an old french quotation by the French writer Voltaire who wrote in his book Candide these words-- Il faut cultiver notre jardin which means we each must cultivate the things given to us-- our friendships, our talents, our interests, or our knowledge.

These are the tomatoes that were given to us by our neighbor and which inspired this word.