There are many paths to enlightenment. Kabbalah speaks of a tree of life. How do we find out how to live long? We study! We study first from our parents or our peers if we had no parents. When we are young we fumble about in life making many mistakes. However, if we are to be enlightened, then we should consider long life to be a virtue. It is important to respect our elders. This includes not only humans, but humans that have come before us. I suggest looking to a tree to discern the pathway to enlightenment.
We know of trees that they start out as seeds. In the same way, we start out as seeds, formed in our mother’s womb.
Trees grow from mud and the darkness. Their nourishment comes from the darkness, and their drinks are the waters given to them by G-d, waters which fall from the sky. It is not until we truly realize that there is a Force which guides us that we as humans need for guidance that we understand this. Let me illustrate. Quality control can make you be assured that most bottled water is good to drink. However, there is a Force, which we as humans should fear, which has the capacity to cause us to reach for the water in the bottle which is the right one for us. G-d works all things that the righteous do for good. And, trees are formed from mud. As Dave Mustaine puts it in one of his songs, “A dark black past is my most valued possession.” After all, it is the mud where we were planted that nourishes us for our entire lifetime before we were able to rise above the ground and seek the light that G-d gives us from the heavens.
Young trees are never thought much of when they are young. To make a child a star when they are young is to spoil them. Young trees grow up into the forest while they are young. Then, maybe someday they will be at the top of the canopy.
There is a struggle to get to the top of the canopy. There are many other competitors in the forest, which ensure that only the best make it to the top. Sure some trees have it easier than others, but this is of no matter, as the true kings of the forest will remain forever tucked away, hidden. Occasionally, the forest may reveal a superstar to its lesser though. However, some trees go for thousands of years completely unnoticed. And, it is true that when a king gets noticed, it must be that he is near the end of his/her grandeur. Trees can’t run away, and neither can superstars. They are surrounded. They need the rest of the forest to hide them from the vile.
Trees are made of wood. Wood is hard. They are built to last. In their prime, which may last a few hundred years, they are healthy and strong. They need not move out of the way. They were hidden when they were young, and when they were recognized they have the strength of wood. They have a long line of impenetrable ancestry that made them they way they are, selecting for protective strength. Though they might blow a little in the wind, trees are very robust indeed.
Trees have many leaves. Their leaves are as their wisdom, by which they study the sun’s light. In the same way, true wisdom is as the light of G-d. It is by their wisdom that a tree gets its energy. And, they grow toward the light with the understanding that as they reach toward the heavens to live they will need light. Thus, it is that though the trials of winds may bend a tree, it is the light which determines the direction by which they grow.
In summary, if you want to live as long as your peers, then ask your peers. However, if you want to live as long as a tree, then ask the tree!
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