The Tree

No bomb ever burst shatters the crystal spirit.

George Orwell
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Hello Diane
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Out in front of the house here there was a tree. It was s small tree which never seemed to get bigger. Every spring it put forth leaves. They were scraggly looking leaves but they felt very firm and healthy. It also dropped a bundle of seeds which turned into a large clump of foliage at the bottom. This past Spring the tree sent forth no leaves at all, so at some point during the Spring the woman on the first floor, who takes care of the flowers in the front, decided the tree was dead and cut it down. Now that clump of foliage is very lush.

But instead of growing out into a full fledged bush as she expected, it's growing up. She expressed her curiosity about that and I just said that it's a tree. It's growing into a tree. A tree is what it was, and that's what it is. No matter how many times you cut it down it will grow back into a tree, because a tree is what it is, and that's that.

A wise person once said that success is getting up one more time than you fall. If failure is not an option then it doesn't matter how many times you fail.

All the oppressive legislation of congresses, all the erroneous decisions of governments and courts, the plundering by banks and corporations, all the damaging influence of inept teachers and parents, all the vicious acts of terrorists and suicide bombers don't mean a thing and accomplish nothing. A lot of property may be destroyed and a lot of people hurt and killed. But under the dirt, down among the crystals, are the roots of the human spirit, and it will grow again. It cannot be destroyed. And that's that.

DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
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AUTUMN QUESTION

What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?

Only 3 answers so far.

dbdacoba@aol.com

I await your answers.
DB
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Champion Cuisine 4/07/09

Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.

Truman Capote
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Yo.
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Although it has its uses, "failure" is a nasty tasting dish. And if you make the mistake of mixing it with "I give up" then you have something which is really foul. It's good for nothing but to be flushed.

Ah but wait! Take the "failure" and put it in a bowl along with a stick of "lesson learned" (melted) and a packet of "I'll try again." Mix that up. Then check the spice rack for a container marked "I deserve success." Throw some of that in the bowl, stir and taste. Still not right? Okay, look on the shelf in the back of the fridge for a jar labeled "I can do it." Spoon some of that into the bowl and mix it up. Now you have a zesty Tartar Sauce, or what Edward, my teacher used to call "Ta Ta Sauce."

Dab a couple of generous helpings of that on your red snapper of success and say "Ta Ta" to the failure.

When I started to learn art I went to a life drawing class every Saturday morning. In my first class the model was a very large retired fellow. There was so much to him I thought it was like drawing a mountain. It was a ten minute pose. I drew a picture a little bit larger than my thumb. The instructor came by, looked at it and said nothing except "Carry on."

I was at the point where the nasty peck of "failure" was saying "You can't do this. Give it up." But I didn't give it up. I signed up for even more classes and kept drawing until I could do it. Eventually I learned something about painting. I won a few awards in exhibits and sold a few things.

I kept that first drawing around for a long time, not just to humble myself when I needed to, but also to show me how far I had come.

Failure happens. But all one needs is the right recipe to turn it into the right sauce.

DB - The Vagabond
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May you see "crowds of daffodils."
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