Trees are amazing things. They grow up tall and strong. Almost all trees have leaves that are green and many turn bright orange, red and yellow in the fall. Trees offer shade in the heat of summer. Their strong arms can be a home or a resting place for a weary traveler like a bird or a child. Those big strong arms can lend a hand in helping a climbing imagination’s reach for the sky. Trees can blossom with beautiful flowers; some are even fragrant. Trees always have some kind of bark. Sometimes the bark grows thick and hard while other bark is thin and fragile. Sometime’s people take a knife and cut into the bark. They can cut in a word or symbol to mark time. Those cuts will not kill the tree. The tree will continue to grow but those cuts will always be there as a reminder of that moment in time. After years that mark may be almost impossible to find but it is still there, if you know exactly where to look.
It is easy to look at a tree and think of it as big and strong but every tree is different. Some are very strong and hard and can withstand almost anything. Some trees are soft and can easily split or break under very little pressure. Some trees are not all that strong but they can bend and no matter how terrible the storms are around them, they will bend and sway but almost never break.
People are a lot like trees. As adults we all look big and strong; it is just assumed. Some of us grow taller than others. Some blossom and are beautiful to behold. People can be watered and fed and nurtured and grow into big healthy adults. With the power of the sun, some of us may even turn bright red but it is rarely a beautiful site. We can grow to support others who need a place to rest and we can also be a great resource to add fun and joy to another person’s life. We can help to inspire the imaginations of those around us. Just like trees, we are not all strong and some of us will easily break. Some of us can snap under very little pressure while others seem to be able to survive life’s storms no matter how difficult the circumstances. Many adults, at some time in their lives, have been cut, scared by someone whose words or actions have left an impression on them. These actions didn’t kill anyone but they did leave a scar that will not go away. That scar might even be almost impossible to see, unless you know exactly where to look…but we are not trees. We are so much more. Deep inside we hurt. The cuts will heal but the pain remains. We are emotional beings that love and hurt, remember and dream.
Trees are large and powerful. We look at them sometimes in wonder but forget that we are only looking at half the tree. Deep beneath the earth are the roots. They may be just as large as the tree itself yet, for the most part, they are hidden from the human eye. Those roots have helped to nourish the tree and have helped it to grow strong and tall. Not only have those roots helped to determine the health and life of the tree, they are what keep it standing tall. Without those roots, a mighty tree would fall in even the slightest of storms. Many trees of the same type will grow up to look the same. Even though they may look similar, many are very different indeed. This is because of what we do not know, what we cannot see, the roots that are under that tree. Some are surrounded in healthy fertile soil while others are shallow and end at a bed of hard, unforgiving rock. People can be the same way.
Some people have grown up surrounded by healthy nurturing families and friends. They are strong, stand tall and can weather almost anything that life throws their way. Some people, on the other hand, have not been so lucky. Their roots run shallow and have no support around them to lean on. Just like the tree, a person with roots that have not been allowed to grow and strengthen over time, that person that does not have the nurture and support will fall in the face of adversity…but a tree is just a tree and we are not trees. We are so much more.
A tree will grow strong and stand tall for many, many years. At some point it’s time is over and it will eventually die. Those who were lucky enough to enjoy the tree will hold it’s memories while people who come later will only hear stories of what the tree used to be. There may be pictures, there may be stories, but nothing will ever match the living years shared by those who got to enjoy the life of that tree. It is very much the same with the life of a person. The memory of a person is never as great as the life shared with them. So with all of that, people and trees have many similarities, but we are not trees; we are so much more.
When the tree is gone it is gone. Trees and people alike, after their death can be taken and used in parts to help others have a better life. With people, the parts are never greater than the whole. Unlike the tree, we have something deep inside of us that never goes away. We do not go away. Our bark, our trunk, and even all our roots may return to the ground itself but we live on. We keep going, we will still be able to provide joy and laughter and will be able to climb tall and strong from here to the sky and beyond. Maybe, in many ways, we are like a tree with a soul.
We must be careful when we look at each other. We cannot assume that everyone is strong and can handle the storm we want to throw their way. We cannot see what kind of roots they have and we don’t know if they will bend and sway or if they will snap and break. We need to be gentler. Words and actions can cut deeper than the bark on a tree. Even though cuts can heal over and be almost invisible, the scars are still there, especially if you know just where to look. Not all of us are strong and some of us are barely standing. Be careful with the storms you cause in other people’s lives; be careful of the cuts you make. Enjoy a person’s life while they are here and try to nurture and not tear down. We are emotional beings that love and hurt, remember and dream.
We are not trees; we are so much more.
It is easy to look at a tree and think of it as big and strong but every tree is different. Some are very strong and hard and can withstand almost anything. Some trees are soft and can easily split or break under very little pressure. Some trees are not all that strong but they can bend and no matter how terrible the storms are around them, they will bend and sway but almost never break.
People are a lot like trees. As adults we all look big and strong; it is just assumed. Some of us grow taller than others. Some blossom and are beautiful to behold. People can be watered and fed and nurtured and grow into big healthy adults. With the power of the sun, some of us may even turn bright red but it is rarely a beautiful site. We can grow to support others who need a place to rest and we can also be a great resource to add fun and joy to another person’s life. We can help to inspire the imaginations of those around us. Just like trees, we are not all strong and some of us will easily break. Some of us can snap under very little pressure while others seem to be able to survive life’s storms no matter how difficult the circumstances. Many adults, at some time in their lives, have been cut, scared by someone whose words or actions have left an impression on them. These actions didn’t kill anyone but they did leave a scar that will not go away. That scar might even be almost impossible to see, unless you know exactly where to look…but we are not trees. We are so much more. Deep inside we hurt. The cuts will heal but the pain remains. We are emotional beings that love and hurt, remember and dream.
Trees are large and powerful. We look at them sometimes in wonder but forget that we are only looking at half the tree. Deep beneath the earth are the roots. They may be just as large as the tree itself yet, for the most part, they are hidden from the human eye. Those roots have helped to nourish the tree and have helped it to grow strong and tall. Not only have those roots helped to determine the health and life of the tree, they are what keep it standing tall. Without those roots, a mighty tree would fall in even the slightest of storms. Many trees of the same type will grow up to look the same. Even though they may look similar, many are very different indeed. This is because of what we do not know, what we cannot see, the roots that are under that tree. Some are surrounded in healthy fertile soil while others are shallow and end at a bed of hard, unforgiving rock. People can be the same way.
Some people have grown up surrounded by healthy nurturing families and friends. They are strong, stand tall and can weather almost anything that life throws their way. Some people, on the other hand, have not been so lucky. Their roots run shallow and have no support around them to lean on. Just like the tree, a person with roots that have not been allowed to grow and strengthen over time, that person that does not have the nurture and support will fall in the face of adversity…but a tree is just a tree and we are not trees. We are so much more.
A tree will grow strong and stand tall for many, many years. At some point it’s time is over and it will eventually die. Those who were lucky enough to enjoy the tree will hold it’s memories while people who come later will only hear stories of what the tree used to be. There may be pictures, there may be stories, but nothing will ever match the living years shared by those who got to enjoy the life of that tree. It is very much the same with the life of a person. The memory of a person is never as great as the life shared with them. So with all of that, people and trees have many similarities, but we are not trees; we are so much more.
When the tree is gone it is gone. Trees and people alike, after their death can be taken and used in parts to help others have a better life. With people, the parts are never greater than the whole. Unlike the tree, we have something deep inside of us that never goes away. We do not go away. Our bark, our trunk, and even all our roots may return to the ground itself but we live on. We keep going, we will still be able to provide joy and laughter and will be able to climb tall and strong from here to the sky and beyond. Maybe, in many ways, we are like a tree with a soul.
We must be careful when we look at each other. We cannot assume that everyone is strong and can handle the storm we want to throw their way. We cannot see what kind of roots they have and we don’t know if they will bend and sway or if they will snap and break. We need to be gentler. Words and actions can cut deeper than the bark on a tree. Even though cuts can heal over and be almost invisible, the scars are still there, especially if you know just where to look. Not all of us are strong and some of us are barely standing. Be careful with the storms you cause in other people’s lives; be careful of the cuts you make. Enjoy a person’s life while they are here and try to nurture and not tear down. We are emotional beings that love and hurt, remember and dream.
We are not trees; we are so much more.
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