Here is a pic of a neighborhood tree that recently received a massive trimming. It’s located in front of a local school that is being renovated. Most of the trees in front of the school were completely cut down. This one was older and spared, but it still had many of its branches cut off. I imagine this was necessary because it grew too close to nearby power lines. This tree is special to me for a few reasons. When I go running, sometimes my son and the neighborhood kids will join me and ride alongside on their bikes. When we arrive at this tree, one of our favorite things to do is to take a break and climb it, and hang out together in its welcoming branches. And when I go running by myself, I often stop at the tree to do chin-ups — on a particular branch that’s strong and at the perfect height. I feel good when I’m active, and I think I associate many of those feelings with this tree. So when it recently received a massive trimming, it felt significant to me and made me sad. When I would look at it, it didn’t seem the same. It seemed hurt. It might sound crazy to hear, but when I would touch the tree before jumping up to do my chin-ups, I noticed myself pausing to give the tree a comforting touch, as if I was touching a wounded person and offering some kind of healing energy.
Yesterday my son and I drove passed the tree. I was about to express my sadness to him, when he excitedly interrupted and exclaimed how he loves what happened to the tree. He was all excited because he said that it looks like the moon now! Wow, perspective is such a powerful thing. Here I was about to express how sad I was feeling for the tree…for myself?…and here he was loving the change.
I did my pull-ups on the tree this morning and saw it in a completely new light. As I approached it, I marveled at the giant crescent shaped moon that now filled my horizon. When I jumped up to grab onto my familiar pull-up branch, I did so with admiration and appreciation for the tree, and not sympathy — and I couldn’t help but feel the tree smiling back at me. This tree got all chopped up and altered, yet somehow became even more beautiful in my eyes.
The giving tree. And the giving son.
Feeling grateful this morning.
How is life making you more beautiful?

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