The story of an Oak Tree and a Maple Tree
You will be you, and it doesn’t matter what you think
Happy: The oak tree and a maple tree grew side by side as friends. During Spring, they played a lot. The leaves on the maple tree were youthful and plush with colors. The leaves of the oak tree was not. It was dull, and just OK. Maple was happy that it was more lively than the oak, but kept its feeling to itself, without showing off to oak. As an only friend, Maple didn’t want oak to feel inferior.
Convivial: The summer came by, and oak and Maple’s friendship grew stronger. The sun brightened both of their foliage.
Resentful: When the fall came by, the colors of maple leaves turned beautiful yellow and orange. Maple was more happier than ever. People stopped by to look and admire the Maple. Oak quietly felt a tinge of sadness. A slight tinge of contempt grew on it towards Maple. It wondered why the Maple is lucky to be given such amazing capability, even though they are in the same soil, taking the same water and the same nutrients from the soil. Oak felt may be there is something wrong with it.
Regret: In a few weeks, Maple started losing its leaves one by one, while Oak looked as bright and green as ever. While Oak should have stayed happy over its superiority, it felt if Maple, its friend, is losing its leaves because of its ill-will. It felt remorseful and guilty for wishing such ill-luck towards its buddy.
The Bottom-line: We don’t know what our fate is. We don’t know our design. We don’t know our genes. While we can make the best of what we have, we will be we. It does not matter if we feel happy or jealous over the short term fortunes and misfortunes. Life will happen. Things will turn around or stay the same. Over time, we will understand the nature of our existence and come to accept of its design.
