Current mood:
enlightened From the outside, the tree is perfect. Every piece of bark in place. Every leaf bright and green. There are no broken branches. It looks healthy and strong, capable of supporting a house, a child's swing and even a pet or two.
Not far away stands another tree. Its bark is torn away in parts. It has lost several of its leaves and the ones that remain are brown or withered. It has several broken branches. It doesn't appear to be stable and sways in the light breeze.
Upon close inspection, the "perfect" tree is rotting from the inside out. He portrays himself as a strong, capable tree but deep down, he is not someone you can count on. He is surrounded by lies and eventually he will not be able to keep up with those lies. If you choose to depend on this tree, you will find yourself with nothing to lean on… only a pile of sawdust.
The "not-so-perfect-on-the-outside" tree is as strong as steel on the inside. He may have a lot of outer qualities that might not be desirable at first but this is a tree that you can depend on. This tree will be there to hold you up when you need it most. This is the type of tree that will be around for years. It sways in the light breeze because it is open to change and has survived as long as it has because of its willingness to go with the flow.
We need to trust our own opinions when it comes to figuring out what type of tree we want in our lives. Others will try to offer their thoughts on the trees, but we need to trust our instincts. We need to learn from the trees that have let us down in the past and figure out how to determine which trees we want to surround us now and in the future.
To all the trees in my life – thank you for being part of my forest. I wouldn't be the tree I am today without the rest of you. :o)
adventurous