It was in the middle of March at my new apartment. A tall sugar maple tree stood on my back porch. Her naked body was as bare as a skeleton covered with deeply furrowed barks that were cold as crocodile’s back. Every furrow in her trunk resembled the wrinkle of an old woman, that carried stories of wisdom. The fallen leaves that were piled at the bottom once belonged to her. It was the Mother Nature, that took her beauty away and left her with the snapping branches and twigs. However, when I looked at her, she stood tall and calm. She seemed to shed her leaves without any hesitation, to give up everything she once possessed and to become something that the Mother Nature had forced upon her.

Throughout the winter, she was dormant with almost no changes in her physical appearance. I woke up every morning to see the same wrinkled face. The sun shone brightly after a period of rainfall. However, she still didn’t show any sign of changing. At one point it felt like she will never gain back her strength and beauty. I could not even imagine how beautiful she looked because I had never seen her before in all her glory.

Early one morning in the middle of April, I woke up to an unexpected sweet surprise. The old and wrinkled tree had transformed herself into a majestic tree who graciously attired in spectacular fluorescent red-orange leaves. The long and wide leaves with four palmate lobes were full of life and beauty. Those glorious colored soft leaves transmitted the sweet smell of maple that would enthrall the minds of all the passersby. She still stood tall and calm.

This beautiful experience taught me three things:

1: Stand tall and make right choices

It is true that everyone goes through different phases and circumstances over their lifetime. While some are good, others are hard to endure. The indifferent universe frequently throws us unexpected curveball just to remind us that we are not special. Everybody has to the pass the test of life.

Our life sails afloat in conditions that we have never experienced before. Like the captain of the ship, we are challenged by the turbulent sea, bad weather, and the vessel itself. Not all situations of life are in our control. However, we will always have a choice to either react or respond to these circumstances.

Therefore, if we choose to stand tall and make right choices even in the face of difficulty, we can surpass hard times and grow ourselves to become the person that we were meant to be.

2: The true beauty is reflected through hard work and patience

It is human nature that we always expect the best for ourselves. Since we are driven only by expectations, anything out of our expectations makes us sad and bring misery to our lives.

But, if we forget the virtue of patience and hard work in difficult times, unlike the tree during the cold winter, we will never know our potential.

It is important to realize that the same ugly looking tree had the potential within herself to be beautiful. She explored it through hard work and patience. Even when I did not see any changes in her appearance, she was constantly working on herself to bring about the change.

3: Attachment with detachment can bring us peace

The leaves were once the part of a tree, yet the tree could easily detach itself from the leaves. The tree knew the perfect sense of balance between the level of attachment with detachment.

The society today is materialistically so absorbed that nobody wants to give up anything. We feel entitled to possessions and materials so much that any sense of insecurity overwhelms us with sorrow and anxiety.

We must learn to let go, and happily give up. Living a life of little less caring attitude could make it more meaningful and beautiful.