Driving to town today

While driving to town today, I was observing all the brown and dead looking trees, bushes and flowers, and in the middle of feeling a little sad, the thought came to me: wouldn't it be lovely to be a tree?

Yeah sure, for about six months you're drab, dull and falling apart, but the other six months you're flush with life and beauty. Your life is valuable for the surrounding wildlife and foliage. And the older you get the more valuable you are. We can't say that for humans who tend to get shut up in a nursing home when they're "too old" for family members to handle. Plus, instead of getting more wrinkly or sagging with age, trees only get more beautiful. Their leaves become more lush, they get taller and taller instead of shorter and shorter like humans, and often times trees will have higher production (fruits, nuts, etc.) the more mature they are. I don't think you could get too many 100 year old people to produce more than they did in their 50s or 60s.

There are trees that have been around hundreds of years. That's amazing to me! Tall, wild and free. Looking down but mostly up. Arms outstretched touching the sky. Birds in hands that hold their homes. A cool breeze when the sun tries to burn you up. So much revolves around the tree. So much life. So much hope.

My imagination wants to take this thought and run with it. Why would such creations stop at bigger organisms? In other words, why can't mammals enjoy this kind of majesty as they age? Why can't we have that kind of longevity and value? What if there was a world in which these long-lasting organisms decided the fate of the human race? I have my own take on this idea but if I write it all out here then my Muse will think she's explored that topic enough and I'll never see it again.

The Happening kind of ties into this idea as well because I wholeheartedly believe that plants are capable of self-defense and who would blame them for fighting back against the human race. The violence, the over consumption, the lack of respect for nature...these could all lead to a revolt of nature against man. Yes? I don't hear my Muse chiming in just yet so I'll let this one simmer. Perhaps it'll begin to boil in a day or so. Maybe not.

Like usual, it's just fun exploring the ideas that pop into my brain. It's funny how they almost always begin with a question, like "Wouldn't it be wonderful to live as a tree?"