Tender sprouts are at risk from devouring mouths and harsh elements. They are easily uprooted. Unprotected from cold winds, many perish. Over time, the survivor forms a defense of bark and entrenched roots determined to stay. The treetop may rise above a canopy of foliage to partake of the sun s blessings.
Humans are complex beings.
In a metaphorical comparison to trees, our psyche has many layers like tree rings, and our outer lives compare to the branches, bark, twigs, leaves, fruit and seeds. We have interactions with the outside world, the sunlight and rain, the earth, the winds, lightning, parasites, diseases, knives of young lovers and axes of woodsmen, the pollinators, nest-makers and scampering squirrels. We sometimes think and behave as though we are a leaf blowing in the wind, as though the leaf is who we are. Many people operate in a leaf consciousness, without real life and power, easily pushed about by circumstances, unaware of their grounding in the strength of the tree. Our real self is the nature and fullness of the tree - our real self is the treeness.