The Tree, the Tumbleweed, and the Dandelion

Bear with me as I work this thought through. I was intrigued by someone’s metaphor today and thought I would elaborate on it a bit. The question that I pose to you the reader is this: are you a tree, a tumbleweed, or a dandelion? Now, while many might be thinking about their answer already and seeing the attributes of each, I ask you to hold off. You see, each of these is a metaphor for the way we are spiritually. There is a great wave of “tolerance” in our society and in ways it is wonderful, but in others it is very damaging.

Think of it this way: you are a tree. You a strong and stable. You are grounded in your roots. Perhaps these roots are made of a theology, a doctrine or dogma. More precisely, this is your personal faith. You are so strongly rooted that you can grow and stretch forth without worry. Your branches are your reaches into the outside world. Interaction with the air, elements, and animals are how you interact with other faiths and “spiritualities'”(whatever that may mean). But, since you have a solid trunk and roots, you can not be swayed too far and you will not lean. You live in a symbiotic relationship with others and you get as much as you give.

But, perhaps you are a tumbleweed. You grew in that soil of learning and tradition, but once you got big enough, the outside forces took over. Your long branches into the sky reached so far that you were taken away by the wind and ripped straight out of the ground. You no longer have any grounding and your roots have no choice but to tumble along with you as you roll helplessly along. Subject to the elements, you are pushed wherever the wind takes you and you will eventually break apart into nothingness at this rate.

Or, if you are still young, perhaps you are the dandelion. More specifically, you are the seeds that blossom on the top and flower into those white fluffy parachutes that get caught in the wind. Where you are from or perhaps your parents are the plant itself and they have grown strong in their tradition. Maybe they are a true weed and will take up root wherever they feel comfortable, but nonetheless, they grow constantly. They bring you up and grow , putting you out to the world. They have you teetering on the edge, gaining your independence, until the wind eventually takes you away. The important part is where you land. Will you land in fertile soil in which you can take root and grow to become something more than a seed? Or will you be subject to the elements and fall where there is nothing but a barren wasteland?

In this world, many people fall into these categories. Not all, but most. I like to think of myself as a tree. I want to be a tree, a mighty oak or redwood that will stand strong and can even be a place to shade those in need. Hopefully your faith is strong enough to take root and stand firm. Today’s world would have us reach out so far and wide to accept as much difference as we can, while at the same time leaving very little in which our roots can take hold. At some point, the roots as weak as they are may give and you will simply tumble away. I hope not.

I pray for you and myself that you may be a tree.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalm 1:1-6).