The oak and the maple

My "set up" at home is a reclining chair in the living room with a clear view of the maple tree in my front yard.  It's autumn and when I headed in for surgery the leaves were changing and falling, except on my maple.  My maple tree is one of the last trees to drop it's leaves in the neighborhood.  Every autumn, I can drive down my winding street and see yards full of leaves:  birch, elm, but mostly oak, lots of oak leaves. But as you come around the curve  there will be my maple tree, full of leaves and full of color.  Even now, mid-November and after days of heavy winds, there are still yellow leaves clinging to the bottom branches.

When I looked at that maple tree I thought of the symbolism.  This tree is hanging on longer than any other tree.  It boasts of beautiful colors, which it hangs on to until the last possible moment, and only once winter is truly upon it, does it relinquish its leaves.  I want to be like that tree, holding on, fighting until the last leaf drops.... or do I?

I think about the oak.  It grows taller and stronger than the other trees.  When the strong wind comes, its roots are deep and it holds on, firmly planted in a strong foundation.  Branches may fall, but the tree stands.  When the seasons change, the oak acknowledges the change, goes with the flow and drops its leaves, then moves forward.  It may not be the most beautiful site, but it is as ready for the winter as it will be for the spring that inevitably comes on the winter's heels.  The oak doesn't hold onto the little things.

So which one will I be, an oak or a maple?  I already know, that like the oak, I have deep roots.  Grounded in a foundation of faith and family, they've been growing for 47 years and with every event in our lives, good or bad, they've taken deeper root.  But, like the maple, I find it's easy to get caught up in the little things, and forget to let go.

Someone once said to me, "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger; but then it kills you".  I laughed when I heard this faux-cynicism, but now that I think of it, there's a tone of truth.  Focusing on the "leaves" only gives the appearance of making us stronger.  And focusing on the "leaves" prevents me from focusing on the things that will make me stronger - my "roots".   So, I have to remind myself to focus on the things that strengthen my roots, and not the things in life that come and go - the "leaves" if you will.  Because a lifetime of focusing on the leaves will weaken my roots, and weak roots, make even a slight breeze feel like a tornado.

So I will strive to be an oak, and let the leaves of life fall where they may.