Just Imagine....

You were born as a tree.......

Starting out as a little seed, lovingly planted....or inadvertently dropped by someone who may have been careless. Nature takes its course anyway and there you are, encased in the warm damp earth, nice and cozy......safe......you could stay there if you wanted, after all.... nothing can hurt you, but as nature planned, you wonder if there is something better out there.... curiosity gets the better of you!

Something warm and intriguing reaches down from above, enticing you to feel its love. You slowly begin to reach out. Its not easy. You sprout, small buds, you stretch with all your might and finally one day, you break through the surface and feel the warm rays of sunshine. Its a little daunting at first, but the sun coaxes you out with promises of what may be and you take the plunge!

At first you have no idea of the dangers you will face, what you will learn, the challenges you will happen upon. You are innocent and unaware of anything but the suns warmth. You are weak and unprotected. If you are lucky, the one that planted you will protect you, nurture you with water, food and love. You will grow strong roots and begin to grow tall. You will stretch your branches towards the sun's warmth and embrace what is so easily yours.

If you are not so lucky, you may struggle to keep your hold to the earth. You may suffer but you will soon learn to fend for yourself.

You will learn there are many dangers to be watchful for. Father sun is not always so loving. Sometimes he is rather harsh. Sometimes there is no water, no food. You face many dangers under this sun. Dehydration, famine, wind, storms, disease, and many many predators that may just eat you or trample upon you or pull you from the ground as though you are nothing. This world is a scary place!

From instinct your soft stem becomes hard and you grow stronger, it may take a little longer than if you had been nurtured by that loving hand. But alone through pure will, you still make it and soon enough you start to grow many branches, reaching out to learn more. Your leaves burst forth, seeking for knowledge. You grow big and strong. With each leaf, you grow a new understanding of this big world and hope that you find your place in the scheme of things.

Again if you are one of the lucky ones you will stay healthy and bear fruit. This fruit will be collected and replanted to extend your family. Hopefully, your knowledge will be passed down, building a firm foundation and more strong trees. You will be at peace with who you are and your purpose on this planet. Because you know, you are good and you are taking your place in the cycle of things that are meant to be.

But life is generally never that simple. Perhaps you will get sick. Perhaps you will bear too many leaves and they may weigh you down, making it hard to cope. You may struggle to hold up your branches and eventually they may break. You may become so laden down that you lose them all and become bare. You may even give up and simply die.

Now you could keep struggling until this happens or you could make the decision to drop some of those leaves, starting with the ones that are withered. Letting them fall to the ground as lessons well learned. You could take from them the knowledge that you have gained and use it to strengthen your roots, mixing them well with the earth to sustain and feed you. Leaving room for new growth. Helping you to grow even bigger and stronger until you are able to support yourself and understand that everything happens for a reason, that every hardship you come across and conquer makes you the tree you are meant to be.

You would cast aside the broken branches you no longer require. Throw your seeds to the wind where they, like you will regrow. A forest will be born. You will stand together and protect each other. You will thrive together.

If you were a tree, you would accept this as the way of things. Being a part of mother natures plan would come naturally to you. As humans we could learn an awful lot from a tree, if only we would listen.