I have known other trees to be uprooted, stripped of branches and leaves in a powerful windstorm, bent and broken by heavy ice and snow, riddled by disease and insects, felled by a chainsaw wielding human.

Final day for a crimson maple tree

I have witnessed destruction and danger, I have seen death and decay. Yet I must stand tall and root myself deeply in the face of these unpredictable dangers.

Fallen log with fungi and moss

It is my only choice. To endure, to live and unfold my leaves each spring, to release my seeds on the wind, to send my roots deeper and deeper into the fertile soul beneath me, to reach toward the light.

In the face of the dangers of life, within your power, do what you can to live fully, face the sun, and fulfill your purpose here. All other choices lead to diminishment.