Trees Have no Choice

Yesterday, while walking in the scorching sun with our weekend buddies, I looked over the other side of hte street and caught this scene. Those big trees were removed from their original forest home and re-planted in this upscale neighborhood. Apparently, they didn’t make it. Now they are being carried away to be made into furniture, to be burned into dark charcoal or who knows what.

It reminded me of an old Chinese saying that is to the effect of my translation:

“A tree fights to survive once being replanted; human beings tend to thrive once being relocated.”

Despite my claim that I was a tree in my past life, I am only human. While I hate the feeling of being uprooted, I have relocated several times. I usually like where I am. Also I can put up a lot with the environement. I am made to be like a tree: don't like or need to move. I do find myself though in a situation where the conditions are mature and a move becomes inevitable. This is the time I know I have to curb my hesitation and move on. I don't move away from a bad situation but I move towards the better. After several major moves now, I looked back and this is what I realized. I absorbed the best of soils in the south and north of China, in the east and west of the world. A tree doesn’t need that much of a variety in soil, a human can benefit from them all, if s/he is willing. I still want to be a tree in my next life, but I am a human. How blessed!