Why You’re A Tree

“In the cycle of Nature, there’s no such thing as victory or defeat. There is only movement.”

~ Pg. 20 (Manuscript Found In Accra — Paulo Coelho)

Quarter to three in the eerie season of the clock and I attempt to articulate my opinions over a brilliant idea I came across in the book quoted above.

Imagine you’re a Tree.

You lost all your leaves in autumn.

The season defeated you. Now, think like a tree, what would you do? Give up any hope to survive now that you can’t breathe, or provide shade to those who approach you?

You don’t. You devise other ways to survive. You strengthen your roots, and survive every day hoping it’d be better tomorrow, or the day after. You carry on. You carry on till the day you see the snow is melting, and the Sun is visible. You carry on till you gain strength to heal, and start afresh. You carry on till Spring. Till the time you grow new leaves, providing the much needed shade to weary travellers.

You win, but you’re not invincible. The season will defeat you again, and you’ll have to suffer again. The cycle is as necessary as our existence, every lap counts, every experience differs, every adventure leaves you with a noble thought, adding to your beauty!

We all have Lost.

Lost at a game of arm wrestling, a friendship band, an important match, or a diary that held portions of your Heart.

Lost our favorite human, a dead present to the brutal past, an important match, or a Heart that understood Yours!

Some thing, some one, some way at some point in Time.

At every such crossroad you unconsciously chose between Failure and Defeat.

You gave up arm wrestling, accepted your bare wrist, playing that one game, or scribbling your buried emotions, lying about their existence.

You gave up all hope of finding that heart in a different cage, on a brighter future after that dark dead present, losing faith in not just Love but even your ability to ever utter the word.

You accepted the loss. You Failed.

Or maybe,

You kept arm wrestling, shared your tiffin and smile till you got another band, practicing your game till you won, provided ink and words to emotions till you painted a beta version of your Heart.

You kept walking alone, till you found another traveller who understood every word you never uttered, waking up to the sunrise, believing it wasn’t Love that ever left you but mere humans.

You accepted the loss, the Defeat, but held on and struck back.

Failure and defeat might appear synonymous to each other, but now you know they repel.

We’re defeated till we win, but we fail when we give up.

The next time you’re shedding tears over a blurred picture, or love lost, make the right choice!

Smile, fellow Tree! You’re doing great!