Assembling Your Elephant: "It Looks Like A Tree!"

Just to the left of the fence around the yard is a grand tree.  In the spring it buds full in pink flowers followed by pink foliage and then, delicately, everything turns green.  The neighborhood is filled with them actually.   In the summer they are noticed for their shade, in the fall they are a nuisance for their leaves, in the winter they are feared when covered with ice amidst the wind, but in the spring they are a great source of pleasure.  Large living chameleons able to provide shade, shelter, protection, stability, enjoyment, and satisfaction gracefully, beautifully, rhythmically.    

I maybe should have started with this one.  Finding health, or finding ways to be more healthy, or finding reasons why you aren't as healthy as you'd like, starts with defining your tree.  You embody all of the properties found in the trees about my yard.  I am not sure why I thought to start with a Wall that may be in your way before I asked you to appreciate your Tree, except for the fact that
John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) said it must be so.  If that were my reason, however, this post would be about a Spear. I digress~

You, to the point, are a tree.  Assembling your elephant, I remind you, is to look at your life as a sum of its parts.  A whole.  You are the center of that whole.  Everything that happens to you or about you matters when it comes to your health.  It matters little how you look in comparison to others; less how others look at you; and, least, your size.  A tree does not face a storm comparing itself to other trees, nor does it grow or shrink or hide away from controversy; it simply stands with flexibility and patience and acceptance of the storm.  

I remember Shel Silverstein's book vividly when I think of trees; giving every last bit of themselves to make others happy.  Imagine if we were so wise.  To give what we wanted instead of demanding our desires.  To apply ourselves when solving problems instead of waiting on the riverbank for someone else to fetch a floatation device.  To reach up for more light and clean air and new rain instead of waiting for service and air conditioning and a turn in the shower.  To give in order to be happy.  Period.

You are a large, living chameleon able to provide shade, shelter, protection, stability, enjoyment, and satisfaction gracefully, beautifully, rhythmically.   You are already in possession of beauty, and grace and strength.  You already possess gifts ready to be given and knowledge ready to be shared.  The only things that can make you more complete and able are real food, plenty of water, and nature's vitamins.  But, just remember, before you approach the world with a broad reach, remember to wash your hands.

Anna~