I love this, I wept. I went in search of better words to express how the story made me feel and found this posted by ‘PC’ last year;

“ The story is an allegory using two extreme but pertinent characterizations of mankind’s frame of mind. It’s got nothing to do with a boy and a tree. The tree is not a hero; it’s a symbol. The boy is not a hero; he is a symbol. The boy never thanks the tree, but the tree doesn’t mind. The tree finds satisfaction and a justification for being in and of its own actions, not in some expectation or reception of a reward. Who have you failed to thank at various stages in your life, one in which invariably so many have offered you so much? A teacher? A parent? A spouse? God? Most of the most profound contributing forces in our life give freely of themselves with no expectation of praise. That fact begs two vital questions about our personal moral codes and therefore in a larger sense our places in the universe: Do you consider your own existence to be more reflective of the boy or the tree, and are you comfortable with that categorization? Remember your answer to that question the next time a worthwhile charity comes calling for a donation or a youth sports team puts out a call for volunteer coaches. Whether you come from a perspective of belief in heaven or from a secular historical point of view, all lives are ultimately judged by how many other lives they have touched, nothing more. That is the point of the story. That is the lesson. That should make a conscientious reader aware that the boy should have thanked the tree; that the cycle of life is delicate; that you will be better off not by taking endlessly but by giving limitlessly. Most of humanity feels innately driven to emulate the boy, but wouldn’t you rather be like the tree?”