May 7, 2006

How insignificant the tree

In my outing today I stopped near the point to see the tree. It stood at High Point like it always has. A few years ago I noticed it had died. Usually what draws my attention is a Bald Eagle sitting in the tree watching everything going on below.

But today the tree is empty. A few of its remaining branches have broken off at the ends. The tree stands alone on the point, waiting to fall over like the others around its base.

Today the tree causes me to ponder the fate of trees across the world. From a seedling billions of trees grow up, known only to its immediate neighbors. Maybe someone passing through may take a short interest, or even sometimes a bit longer. But for most individual trees we see them and forget them. Do we care about the life of a single tree?

Trees die every day.

How insignificant the tree. When it dies, only the surrounding trees feel the loss and they must adapt to the gap left by a fallen friend. Others will grow up and take its place and in time, no trace will be left of the solitary tree. Maybe the tree will die from disease. Maybe it will die of old age. High winds may take the tree or a fire. Or maybe it will be cut down or left to stand while all its neighbors are displaced.

Its easy to not care about the tree. There are just too many of them to try and care for them all. While we notice and may actually care for the trees that are close to us, we care not for the single tree a hundred miles away that dies in a forest, unknown to us.

We are each a tree...

Woody