a sense of how to be

this morning, a tree caught my attention and offered up its view on how i should choose to live.

this beautiful tree, teeming with new, tender leaves on strong branches, is surrounded by the bricks of a building, the concrete of the sidewalk and asphalt of the parking area. yet, without a word of renunciation, still it bursts forth its beauty every spring.

i stood and wondered about this tree; in some ways i was saddened by its seeming demise of being trapped in such a web of human "civilization"; but it simply stared back at me, waving to me in the light breeze. it is alive, and even in the midst of its placement, it does not hold a grudge toward those who planted it there. it simply IS. it simply GROWS. it simply PROVIDES. it simply GIVES its beauty to all who see it, as well as all who don't even look. it is SHELTER for the creatures of the earth - other plants vining up its trunk, squirrels and birds nesting comfortably in its strong arms, insects and such having a hayday enjoying, sharing, and interacting to keep the amazing cycle going.

i wish to be like that tree; when i am in a place where i feel i am surrounded by opposition, i will be beautiful. i will GROW, PROVIDE, GIVE, and SHELTER without question. when others do things that destroy, i will continue to create.

stare at a tree for a while today - one buried in the depths of our concrete conditions. consider the purity of its way, and ponder how your life may be the same as that tree. that tree and i will both decay back into the earth someday; but now, while that tree and i are here together, i will remain aware of our similar duties to be peace inside the chaos.