January 25, 2007

Growth

Trees are accepting. They don’t ask for more or less or demand anything. They accept what they are given and grow. Truly some are spoiled, they receive all the light, room, nutrients and water a tree could hope for. Others are cast into impossible conditions where it seems none of the required elements exist, yet there they stand. They cling to the terrain unwilling to give up. They may grow slower or be spindly and misshapen but they seem to thrive where they should not. How do you explain the willingness of a tree to grow where it is denied that which would make it thrive? Who or what is responsible for its growth? The tree does not question or bemoan its circumstances; it just reaches out for the required elements. I see traces of humanity in the lessons of a tree’s growth. Some humans are spoiled and receive all that could be hoped for while others are cast into impossible conditions. From within these impossible conditions some people seem to thrive, they maintain a willingness to grow and reach out for the required elements. They branch out into the hearts and minds of others and root themselves in hope and faith unwilling to give up.