The Tree

A philosophy, not actually a story.

     This is a metaphor. Within this metaphor are many similes. Altogether, this is life. I AM…you ARE, too. That is to say that I exist…YOU exist too, but YOU are not tangible. Just as you exist, so does the body, but the body is tangible, so the body IS. I AM and my body IS in existence within the same place, and at the same time, together in coexistence. Like a seed, people can only see the outer shell, and like a seed, people start off small. Some of us grow very little in a long life, others grow to become great, but the point is that, like a seed, people grow. I’m not talking about in height or in weight, though people certainly do grow in those ways, no, I’m speaking of the intangible growth. If I’ve lost you, then allow me to start over in a different manner...
     1.) You have senses: sight, touch, sound, taste, and smell. These are your roots. They take in what the world offers up all around us.
     2.) You have intuition. This is your trunk. It puts together and makes sense of all the things your senses take in, and from this you will feel what is right, and you will feel what is wrong.

     So, you are born, and you spend so much of life taking things in (learning) through your senses, and your brain spends so much of life trying to figure it all out. Finally, when you DO make sense of something, you branch out. You spend so much of your life learning words and how to put them together, then, finally, you create a story, or a poem, or anything else that can be created with words. You spend so much of your life listening to sounds and learning how they can be arranged, then, finally, you create a melody. You spend so much time experiencing what the world has to offer, and then one day, finally, it all makes sense: these creations of yours are your “work”. I’m not talking about that crappy thing we all have to go do to earn a paycheck, no, I speaking of the masterwork…or the Masterpiece.

1.)    You have roots that take in things around you.

2.)    You have a trunk that puts it all together.

3.)    Now, you have “works” (a poem, or a song, or whatever else you have created.) These creations are your branches, and they stretch out beyond yourself, beyond your body.

     So, you have branched out and on those branches are leaves. These leaves are the people that your work touches in some way: either, they saw it or heard it, maybe they tasted or smelled something you cooked, perhaps they felt it in their hands one day. The point being that your work, even when you are not looking, your work is affecting a multitude of people, somewhere, at some time, in some place, ALWAYS. Out of all those leaves upon your branch, only a very few of them will flower. These flowers are the people that your creation (your work) has inspired in some way, large or small, and when that flower blooms to let its pollen or seeds loose upon the wind, THAT is the spirit of your work being carried on through the one, or many, that you inspired. That is YOUR spirit being carried on, and yes, as your spirit moves along, it too is growing.

1.)    You have roots that take in things around you.

2.)    You have a trunk that puts it all together.

3.)    You have branches that are the culmination of what your trunk has put together.

4.)    You have leaves on those branches

5.)    You have flowers on a few of those leaves

6.)    Your flowers spread their seeds

7.)    The pollen grows into new trees.

     Now, if you are ready for the deep stuff, here it is: There is a spirit that adds value to this world that surrounds us, AND there is a spirit that destroys the world that surrounds us. So, as your roots take things in, it takes in BOTH spirits at the same time. You MUST use your intuition when branching out to figure whether you are adding value to the world with your creation, or if you are destroying the world with your creation. The real problem is not in understanding “good or bad,” the problem is: understanding “cause and effect.” Because, a single action in the wrong place at the wrong time can have disastrous consequences, however, that very same action in the right place at the right time can make all the difference.

                A good intention is only as good as its outcome.

     Most people make decisions based on “good or bad,” and unfortunately, life is not as black and white as “good or bad.” Also, and just as sad, most people make decisions based on “gain or loss”, and again unfortunately, life is not as black and white as that, either. Being human means being capable of making mistakes, and some of those mistakes will UNDOUBTEDLY cause misery among the people affected by that decision. That’s life! That’s also known as taking a (metaphorical) s**t on someone who didn’t deserve it. But, you know what? That metaphorical s**t you took on someone is actually going to help them grow. Because, no tree, indeed, no flower can grow without a little s**t around its roots. It is, in fact, the only way. All we can do, as we create, is to make sure that our creation causes as little harm as possible.

                Live your life, do what you will and harm as little as possible.

     We can feel inside of us when our creation will do more good than harm, just as we can feel when what we are about to do will cause more harm than anything else.  In the end, of all the millions of decisions to make, we are actually left with only two choices to make:

                     1.) Will I do what I feel is wrong in order to save my life (or my way of life)?

                                Or

               2.) Will I do what I feel is right, knowing that my life (or my way of life) is forfeit for doing so?

Reviews

[alanwgraham]

I can see that you have developed this as a metaphor of human development and it almost reads like a scientific thesis. I feel that you make have taken it too far when you include good and bad into the metaphor. The whole idea is interesting but as you have said it is a bit hard to get your head round it.
It is good to try something a bit different so well done!
Regards,
Alan