Learn From the Sprout

Why, is one of the first questions children often ask. This question might put the recipient of the question on the defensive. There are many reasons for this. Perhaps the answer is not so easy to explain. Or it could seem unnecessary to even articulate. Some may take it as a challenge to their authority. Still others may see it as an attack on their intelligence or character. What an odd response to such an innocent inquiry. This question often triggers in us the question of motive, but to the youngster it may be nothing more than an attempt at learning. The youngster may not even mean why. They may have simply meant how.

In our adolescence or teenage years this same question may indeed be used to challenge authority, motive, and intelligence. Later in life we may utter this word as we question our own suffering or that of others.

Ironically we may have carried this word around with us our whole life and never really learned to use it to its true potential. When we were quite young, however, we were actually much closer to discovering where this little three letter word can actually take us if we let it.

As humans we might compare this question to a shovel. The answers we discover might be compared to a treasure buried under soil or dirt. Unfortunately due to the negative responses we received as children, we may feel that the soil is more like pavement or stone beneath our feet. Discouraged by these barriers to learning some have dropped this figurative shovel in despair.

If you have ever felt this way while having a discussion with someone then I invite you to examine a small plant or sapling in the crevice of a sidewalk or brick wall. It has no shovel or hammer and yet it rises to meet the light. Beneath the surface it reaches for nutrients and water. No obstacle will stand in its way given enough time. It may even eventually move sidewalks although these may seem the size of a mountain by comparison. It has no partner but it is somehow surrounded by other similar vegetation. In the absence of human tending a well paved highway will quickly crumble before plant-life.

Now imagine if our interpersonal human relationships were that resilient. Just imagine what we could accomplish. Throughout history humans have seen a correlation between people and trees. In the Bible this connection is made repeatedly. You may not be religious and that's okay. This book isn't about being religious. It's about being like a tree. The best tree we can be.