From the Roots
The old man sits beneath the Truth Tree, letting his thoughts drift, meandering through moments passed, and he smiles. He remembers another old man who told him of the importance of this tree and also shared his thoughts on the significance of idea and dreams, leaves and branches. He hears footsteps approaching and realizes he is no longer alone. A small group of young ones have gathered and taken seats around him.
"Well, my young friends, I'm afraid you have caught me daydreaming. I welcome your company this fine day. Is there something you wish to speak of today?" he greets them with fondness.
"Yes, we do, I suppose," a young man answers for the group. "Sir, why do you sit beneath this old tree? We have been told that it is called the Truth Tree. Why is that?"
The old man smiles and his thoughts once more return to those long ago days when the story of the Truth Tree was shared. He begins quietly, "Many years ago there was another old man who shared his thoughts with the young and the not so young of our village. He would spend much time beneath these spreading branches and many of our gatherings were here. He named it the Truth Tree because it taught him one of his first lessons in life, responsibility. He explained that this was when he began to explore the truth of his life and its comparisons with nature. He later shared a conversation he'd had with a young girl of our village about seeds and thoughts and he again used this very tree as an example of his words. This tree reminds me of the lessons he taught us and the wisdom he shared so it is very special to me and to many of our village elders."
"How old is the tree, Sir?" another young one asks.
"I am not quite sure but it is decades old. And yet, here it stands, still growing and still thriving. It is like the growth in us, in our families, in our lives. We begin as does a seedling taking root, we grow and learn to become who we are, with branches and leaves and more seedlings to share. I sometimes sit here and think of that old man and wonder if he knew that one of his young friends would some day be as a branch of his wisdom, his lessons, sharing those things he has learned from both the old man and his own paths.
"The old man would speak to us of many things but always left us to make our own choices, to let us explore the roots which nourished us and the tenders who nurtured us, to let our leaves become dreams and our seeds to take root in others to become new trees, new branches, new visions," he explains to the young ones and they feel the honesty of his words and the trust he has placed in them by his sharing.
"Sir, do your think perhaps one of us may one day become a branch as well and share the words you share with us?" a young girl seated next to him asks softly.
"I am sure you all will become branches. If you live your life well, allow your wisdom to come from the roots of your hearts and souls, you will be an example to all. You may even share your lessons without ever speaking a word as your actions will speak the loudest. You may have children and become their first teachers. You may one day find yourself here beneath the Truth Tree speaking to young ones as I am speaking to you. Nothing would make me prouder. Nothing would please the Creator more," the old man says as he rises. "I will bid you all farewell now and will ponder words to share when next we meet. Sit here and enjoy the comfort of the Truth Tree. Open your minds, your hearts and souls, to its gifts. Let its seeds enter your spirits. Let its dance of sun and shadow become the music of your thoughts. Let the very root of its existence find its way into your lives," he says and quietly walks away.
After he leaves the young ones, the old man hears a familiar voice say, "The Creator and I are both very proud of you, a branch of wisdom born from the roots of a shared vision." The old man smiles and , indeed, it is good.
