Seven Life Lessons We Can Learn From Trees

The Jewish sages compare man to a tree. Just before Tu Bishvat,the Jewish New Year for Trees, we’ve gathered seven life lessons that everybody can learn from trees, no matter where we are in life. 

1. Be quick to respond to sunshine: Sometimes our life experiences can make us cynical. We don’t enjoy the good times that come along because we don’t trust that they are real, or we’re so scared that the good times will end one day that we refuse to let ourselves enjoy them. Learn from the trees. As soon as the sun shines on you, spread your leaves to absorb all you can.
2. Don’t be scared of winter: We all go through different seasons in our lives (and not always in the same order). Sometimes we are full of blossom and potential; sometimes we are laden with fruit; sometimes we feel bare with no leaves or fruit. Don’t agonize over your winter times. Look at them instead as a time to recharge and renew yourself for future growth.

“Let us learn to appreciate there will be times when the trees will be bare, and look forward to the time when we may pick the fruit” ~ Anton Chekhov

3. Defy gravity: We know that everything is pulled down towards the center of the earth - except for trees! Trees grow upwards, and so do people. We have the ability to overcome the negative forces which try to drag us down, whether they are external temptations or internal feelings of hopelessness. Work to grow ever upwards, like a tree, reaching towards the light.
4. Don’t look down on humble beginnings: Even the mightiest oak began as a tiny seed. Don’t think that a job is beneath you; it could be the first step to greatness. And never deny where you can from, because you are nourished by your roots.
5. Sometimes growth requires destruction:Before a sapling can shoot up into a strong tree, the seed has to decompose into the soil. Similarly, we often have a hard outer casing of negative ways of thought which are holding us back from growth, and need to be destroyed before we can reach our full strength and potential. Sometimes, what feels like a purely horrible and painful period of life is actually a way of destroying our ego or negative ways of thought, so that we can grow to something bigger and stronger than before.
6. Growth requires strong roots:A tall tree with a stunted root system will fall and die in the first strong wind. Make sure that you are well rooted before you reach for your far-off goal. Take the time to invest in good friends, supportive family relationships, and a wholesome value system.
7. Be flexible: When the strong winds blow, flexible trees just bend before it, and then straighten up and go back to the way they were before. The ones that can’t bend before them just break. In life, too, we often need to give way a little in a storm.

Make Like A Tree And ... Grow

A veteran nonprofit leader, Faigie Horowitz, MS is a columnist, motivational speaker and active community rebbetzin in Lawrence, NY.

 By Faigie Horowitz, MS