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The Grand Old Tree and the Little Flower

Dear Reader ... This is the fifth story out of a seven story series ... perhaps I shall publish the rest in the future.

Today was a most beautiful summer day with the sun shinning and the flowers in our front yard looking most beautiful. However I was anxious for the sun to set so I could see what special journey Grandfather might have for me tonight. No sooner than I had climbed into my bed and closed my eyes than the Victorian house appeared in the inner window of my vision. I scampered down the walkway and on to the porch, through the double front doors and up to the stairway leading to Grandfathers tower. As always Grandfather was waiting there and motioned me to sit in my chair.

Grandfather then said, "Little son, tonight instead of traveling in our globe I want you to see a moving picture ... a story of a grand and beautiful old tree and a little flower. Actually I could be the great old tree and you the little flower." So with a wave of his hand the globe darkened, just like in a movie theatre, and the verdant forest with the grand old tree appeared just exactly like the stained glass window depicted at the entrance to the house. As the pictures of the forest, the grand old tree and the little flower were displayed on the screen Grandfather narrated the story as follows:

In a great forest lived a beautiful old tree. The tree was so old that even its bark had grown grey and none of the other forest plants could remember a time when the tree was not there.

Now beneath this old tree grew a lovely little flowering plant. In the spring a small bud started to grow ... in a few weeks it had grown into a large bud ... and then one dawn as the golden ray of morning sunlight kissed the bud ... it awoke as a beautiful little white flower.

The little flower looked all around, for this was the first day of her life, and she wanted to see the whole of her world in the forest. She looked up to see how tall the old tree was that grew next to her. She noticed that he was so tall his uppermost branched almost touched the sky. The little flower thought, if only I could be like the old tree what a wonderful view I would have of the whole forest and sky ... bur alas I am only a little flower on a very small plant, so tiny so insignificant.

"Good morning old tree" said the little flower, in its small childlike voice, that sounded like a small child's xylophone. "Good morning and a Happy Birthday to you", said the old tree, in a deep bass voice that seemed to start in his roots and move up through his trunk ... reverberating like a bass drum ... and ending up sounding like a whole orchestra in perfect tune. So beautiful loving and melodic was the old trees voice that upon hearing it, for the first time, the little flower felt a great wave of deep love spread over her ... a grand warm kind of sensation followed by a feeling of great happiness, security and safety. The little flower was so happy the great tree lived next door to her.

Then a sad feeling came over the little flower ... for she thought how old and how grey her good friend was ... and perhaps ... soon ... his life would be over.

Now the little flower thought these thoughts because she was very young and in the springtime of her life ... she did not understand that she was herself a part of the plant and the little plant was, in truth, a part of the gnarled old tree. Actually, the roots of the little plant were the same roots as those of the old tree ... however the little flower saw herself separate and apart from the old tree.

When again, in truth, the old tree was really her greater wiser self ... as she received great love, understanding, and nourishment from the old tree ... although she was unaware of that fact.

The wise old tree never told the little flower who she really was ... and even if he had told her ... would she have believed him? And so the old tree left the little flower to find these things out on her own.

One day a great windstorm came up out of the west. The wind blew and blew. The old trees great branches swayed in the breeze ... but such was his strength ... that the wind did not move his trunk at all.

The little flower, we are sorry to say, was completely blown off the plant that grew at the base of the old tree. She was carried upward on one of the arms of the west wind ... higher and higher the little flower was carried ... until she flew right over the very top of the old tree.

Looking down she saw the top of the old tree was also covered with little white flowers that looked just like her. She also saw that the top of the old tree also was covered with yellow, red, brown and black flowers so that the top of the tree looked like a potpourri of colors. She was not unhappy to be blowing in the wind, for now she realized that she was a part of the grand old tree ... her friend ... and one with the nature of all things ... as all of us are ... and that the next spring she would be born again.

Grandfather then said, "You see the lesson to be understood from this story is that this is the tree of life and represents all of humankind here on earth, some seven billion souls. We are all one no matter our race, color, nationality, or labels we might apply to ourselves. All humanity is related as brothers and sisters and all life no matter how small or insignificant it may seem to be is all a part of the same tree of life."

More to be printed in the future.
Written by BruceBurkard
Published
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
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