Wall Photo by Glen Arbor

ROCK ON: A tree encloses a rock in the woods

The power of nature is truly deserving of respect. In time water will wear down a rock until it is no more. A living tree can overcome and enclose a a rock if only for a little while. There is a lesson here for those who contemplate such things. But ponder this: the tree will die and decay, and in so doing will continue to nourish the life of the forest. The rock will endure for 10,000 years or more until at last it is worn down by the relentless power of the rain until it becomes no more than a grain of sand. Which one has more impact on the life of the forest, the tree whose decaying body will nourish the forest, or the rock who will one day become no more than a grain of sand? I vote for the nourishing tree as a giver of life, but then I have always been one with a propensity for nurturing.