To Be A Tree

When I was a child, I lived on a friend’s farm for a little while. Out in the side yard was the perfect climbing tree. It’s very feasible that I climbed it every day. I did so when I was happy & when I was not. Occasionally, I would climb up & give it a quick hug & then scamper right back down, before I had to go work in the garden or milk the cow or pick the eggs. This striking piece of nature was also the setting in which I often chose to do my homework or to read many a grand book. Yes, you heard me right. Also, many times, I would take just my thoughts up into that dear old tree & spend many hours sorting them all out…or trying to. I think it’s likely that I had too many thoughts at my age then. Anyway….I had this sense that the tree could handle me & my burdens…that it could somehow just sit with me & understand. I don’t know. I mean, I’m not as crazy as Pocahontas….I didn’t seek my spiritual wisdom from the tree!

So, trees. I’ve always had a sort of fondness for them. When you think of all that they add to our lives…wow. Just try to visualize life without them. Some of these are destined to grow up & become magnificent things like sea faring vessels & some…well….just toilet tissue (sorry…tmi). At any rate, they are valuable in countless ways & they so very beautifully adorn our planet. Even though they are cut down for mostly reasonable uses, it is still kind of miserable to see nothing but the stumps sitting there after. And I guess I feel a twinge of regret when, I come across one of those trucks, hauling them from one state to the next. They all just lay there heaped up on one another….& where they once twisted their branches to the sun, now just lay there….lifeless.

Let me assign these trees some individuality for a little while, let me bring them to life, if you will, & see what they might think, of the plans we chose for them.

A tree stands by the river bank, roots profoundly seeded into the rich, moist soil. It spends its days worshiping the sun, feeling the breeze waft through its handsomely colored leaves. Every day, it basks in the sounds of the rippling water, the singing of the birds that nest there & the nighttime cadence of the cricket’s call. Perhaps this one, even has a small amusing girl who gives it a hug every now & then.


Now imagine with me, that one day, it gets unexpectedly cut down. Someone, anyone, whoever, decided it was time that they had a couch to sit on. Well then, a tree is requisite, isn’t it? So, that was the conclusion of all the life that this tree ever knew. No more birds, sunlight, no more little girl, no more….life.

This leads me to a very unusual, but fascinating question: What does it feel like to be a piece of furniture? This is a query that I cannot deny exploring…seriously, who could?
A couch is chosen for its looks & its practicality. It must function as it was purchased to do & it must look good doing so. It must bring you comfort on every occasion you desire it & never protest. It may wait for you…for minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or even years. However, when you call on it, it must be standing by. A couch has no capacity for the voicing of opinions. It does what it was selected to do. It does not get to make a decision as to where in the home it is placed or even what kind of home it resides in. You can eat your food or drink, watch your movies, take your naps, play your games & even snuggle under a blanket after a hard day…on this couch. Never, ever, do you ask this couch what it wants, thinks, dreams or feels….what it really always wanted out of its one life. Why would you? It’s just a couch, after all…right? It is there to make sure your life is what it should be….to be there when you need it. It serves your purposes, nothing more. Quite frankly, it could be replaced with any other couch & who would really know the difference.

However, one day, very long ago…it was a tree & it still remembers that time. It knows that there are trees who were not chosen to be cut down for a mere functional couch. There are trees out there like the one at the farm, who, to this very day, still reside in a lovely yard…a yard that has held many Independence Day parties, birthdays & barbeques. That tree has heard the family play their guitars & sing for countless nights. And in that tree, there is a swing, that has seen three generations of children. Sun & snow have touched its branches. Autumn has blown away its leaves & spring has returned them…year after brilliant year, as it lives out its days in the light of all that is valuable in the world. Most importantly, though, it had the unmatchable privilege of knowing love. It received the priceless hugs of a little girl who had so much love to give, that it even spilled out onto an old tree.

Imagine it…sentenced to being just a couch, when you know full well what your life could have been as a tree….being appreciated for all you have to offer this world…& being free to be who you were truly meant to be.