One of the dresses at the World Of WearableArt (WOW) captured me. The model walked with it swishing around her ankles until she reached the end of the catwalk. As she turned, she began to lift the hem with a hoop to reveal a honeycomb effect. Layer upon layer of material was sewn into the petticoat and it looked more like a chinese lantern than a dress. I longed to make something like it and reveal a surprise to brighten someone else’s day. For weeks, I tried to figure out how to fit that much material beneath a light bodice. Time passed, the idea faded.
In New Zealand, the tree fern (ponga) is our national symbol, the silver fern. If you stand logs of ponga beside each other to make a fence, some of them sprout roots and continue to grow. Vertical placement speaks life rather than death. When a tree is felled, it lies on the ground horizontal.
There’s a verse about trees:
“the tree will lie wherever it falls”. Ecc 11v3
Trees can be staked and pruned to direct their growth, they may grow in a stand with others, or they can grow wild. Different types of trees have different root structures. When a storm blows over a massive tree, we get a good view of the root structure. Some tall trees have surprisingly shallow roots, but those trees normally grow in groves where their roots intertwine with other tree roots and together, they hold each other strong. Where they grow alone, they are at the mercy of the elements.
A tree reflects its environment. Outside my house is a tree that has obviously been buffeted by wind its entire life. It leans dramatically. It’s fairly clear where this tree will land if it falls over.
We used to listen to a band called Obadiah and the minor prophets. Their music was clever, funny and biblical. One of their songs was ‘Yael’, about the death of a commander named Sisera. The catchy lines ring out in the chorus: “Where he fell, there he lay, where he lay, there he fell, he lay where he fell down, dead”. It’s been going around in my head all week. What if that line is not just a poetic description of his story, but a statement about how he lived?
Which way do we lean? Who are we? If we lay where we fell, where would we find ourselves?
When you allow a particular habit or thought pattern to shape you, you grow a particular way. Where you choose not to stake yourself or surround yourself with others, you are shaped by your environment.
Some of us are designed to stand with others and when we isolate ourselves, we unknowingly create instability. Others have deep roots and have the strength to stand independently; if that’s you, others may find shelter nearby.
There is no point in trying to be a great wide shelter tree when you’re a poplar. You are designed to stand straight and tall, highlighting a boundary or creating a special feature. Not many can fit in your shade. If you try and be something you’re not, you’ll always feel inferior, like you’re not good enough. Yet when you realise who you truly are, you can naturally be you.
Some trees grow quickly; others grow slowly. Some trees fruit quickly; others take years before the fruit forms. Some trees constantly lose needles or leaves and replenish, creating an evergreen effect; other trees lose their leaves in autumn and hibernate for the winter. A willow thrives near water; it is pointless to plant it in a desert. Some trees flower; some trees don’t. Some trees form by growing up others like a vine, others grow straight and tall.
In nature, we see trees in different settings. Some grow where different species complement each other. Other times we see an orchard or hedge where many trees of the same variety are cultivated together. This requires care and attention, but the results can be stunning. We might see a gnarled tree overhanging a beach, the perfect spot for children to climb and swing. A tree carries beauty. Beauty inspires.
How come we look at another person and try and be like them? Each of us has something unique to contribute.
How come we judge others and get mad at them when they are wired differently to us?
Could we step back and appreciate the strengths and skills that others carry? Sure, they have weaknesses. But maybe we are the perfect complement to their weakness if we could just get past our power plays and pride.
Where they’re zooming around building things left, right and centre, creating lots of foliage and making it hard to see, are you called to be the slow and steady one alongside them, forming and strengthening in the shadows?
Where they’re falling behind and getting crowded out, are you called to shelter them while they get established?
Are you in a season of painful pruning? What is shaping you? Which leaning is getting trimmed away? Which direction will you grow?
There are moments when beauty is revealed in a special way; it might be the flourish of flowers before the leaves form or the moment when the snow slides off a bough, it might be the vibrancy of the leaves turning or lush shade in the heat. When we have eyes to see, every species carries moments of particular beauty. We’re not always there when the moment occurs. Sometimes we miss it. Sometimes we just see the tree in its everyday hum-drum state. But every tree has the ability to inspire.
Notice that trees are stunning in different seasons. Likewise, people flourish in different settings. You might see one person shine when the going gets hard while another stirs in a creative space. Yet another person drops one-line gems of wisdom in the quiet while their friend whirls with adrenalin.
You are surrounded by people living their everyday lives. Each of those people have the capacity to inspire you at the right moment. Do you know them well enough to know where their beauty lies? Do you take the time to stop and notice their particular gift to you?
It is easy to identify differences. You are not your neighbour or friend. Rather than try and shape your life to become like them, recognise your own strengths and grow those. Rather than try and reshape them to be like you, look for the unique ways that you might complement each other.
We inspire each other, we’re designed that way. But don’t get tempted to mimic or copy someone else just because you admire something of who they are. The direction you grow shapes your future. The longer you lean one way, the harder it is to change. Allow yourself to grow in a way that is natural for who you are. Not every tree grows in ideal conditions, but every tree presses on to the best of its ability where it finds itself.
While you have life, you have the ability to change direction, to say sorry, to forgive. The longer you leave it the harder it is to make the change but it’s not impossible. It is easier to prune a little shoot than a strong branch. But where you lean, that shapes who you are, that determines where you lie.
To have integrity is to be you on the inside and the outside. Make sure that you grow in keeping with who you are. Be inspired by others, walk alongside them, but offer them what is uniquely you.
