When I was a Boy Scout, I made it a point to walk through the woods as often as I could. In the mornings before the camp stirred and late at night, long after most would have laid down, it was not uncommon to find scouts roaming the woods. One day, a man stopped me to ask why it appealed to us all, seeing as how it was "only a bunch of lousy trees" after all.
I didn't have an answer for him at the time and simply ignored the question and moved on. But since then, I've sought to capture the attraction. The world is connected and odds are that you're never more than 10 feet from your cellphone, TV or laptop. The technology designed to pull us together is driving us all apart. A stroll through the woods is one of the few places left to try and connect with something larger than yourself. And the best part is that there is always a lesson to be learned if you listen. Listen to the birds to start off with. Listen to each one sing their song, together it's beautiful but each is unique in its own right. So be confident in yourself. Learn to embrace yourself exactly the way you are because it's just that that makes you unique.
Trees themselves are interesting. Together they make up the forest yet individually they all stand tall. They face storms, winds, animals, among a multitude of other challenges, yet remain firmly rooted. They stand firm with one goal in mind, to survive in a way that lives according to themselves, not anyone else. Individuals in this world face insurmountable challenges every day and yet always seem to find the strength to make it through them. Build yourself a strong foundation in order to hold yourself to who you want to be.
Next comes the web of tiny plants that litter the forest floor. Hundreds if not thousands of plants growing all around each other. Here we can see the new slowly replacing the old. It's never easy though, often littered with rocks and other forest debris, the new growth finds it impossible to break through all of it. So it simply grows around it. People can take away the idea that one does not always have to forget their problems, they can simply grow around them. Look not to forget, but to accept.
"In time, even the deepest wounds heal, and the hardest rocks break down; and new life, and a new forest, can grow from the smallest shoot." - Heather Shearer
But to go beyond these simple lessons, one can take a step back and look at the forest itself. Forests are more often than not, comprised of trees that are all different ages. Listen to the older ones. Be patient, they say. A 700-year-old tree is just that, 700 years old. No younger and no older, no amount of rushing will ever speed the process. But even that 700-year-old tree started somewhere. People often kick acorns around daily throughout the summer but fail to realize that each and every acorn has the potential to become a 700-year-old tree. Growth in life comes whether you are prepared or not so why stress over it? What try and speed up when you can throw your hands up and enjoy the ride? Finally, everyone has potential. Whether you see it or not has no effect on it. Anyone can be anything they want to be so never be the one to kick them around.
So in conclusion, next time you're wandering through a forest that's full of "lousy trees," pay attention, even ask a question because if you listen long enough you may just find the answer.
