It’s all about your perspective
The poem, “The Giving Tree,” begins with “Once there was a tree….and she loved a little boy.” In this poem written by children’s author, Shel Silverstein, a boy would visit an apple tree every day. He would play with her, climbing and swinging from her branches and eating her apples. The boy would take the tree’s leaves and make crowns while he pretended he was king. When he got tired, he would fall asleep underneath her shade. “And the boy loved the tree…. very much. And the tree was happy.” As the boy grew older, he spends less time with the tree. “And the tree was often alone.”
One day the boy comes to visit. The tree invites him to climb on her and swing on her branches and be happy. The boy says that he is too big for that and that he wants money. The tree feels bad because she has no money but she offers her apples for him to sell so that he will be happy. The tree is happy as the boy climbs on her and gathers her apples to sell.
A long time passes before the boy returns. This makes the tree sad. When the boy comes to see her, she shakes with joy! He is a man now but the tree invites him to stay and play with her so that he will be happy. The man says that he is too busy to climb trees and asks her for a house for a wife and a family. The tree tells him that she has no house but that he can cut off her branches and build a house. “Then you will be happy,” she tells him. The man cuts off the tree’s branches and takes them for his new house which makes the tree happy.
Many more years pass and when the man returns, the tree could barely speak because she was so happy! Again inviting him to play, the man says he is “too old and sad to play” and asks if the tree can give him a boat so that he can go far away. The tree offers her trunk so that the man can “sail away…and be happy.” He cuts her trunk, makes a boat, and sails off. This time the tree isn’t really happy.
When he comes back, he is an old man. The tree tells him that she is sorry because she is just an old stump and she has nothing left to give. The old man says that he just wants a quiet place to rest. The tree is happy as the old man sits down and rests on her stump. The End.
Some people see “The Giving Tree” as a beautiful portrayal of a mother’s unconditional love. Others see a selfish and narcissistic boy who constantly takes and is never happy. Some believe that it is a story about Mother Nature and humanity’s acts against her. In 1988, “The Giving Tree” was banned from a Colorado public library for appearing to be sexist against women.
Ironically, the poem does not praise or condemn the tree’s behavior or the boy’s behavior in any way. Neither the tree nor the boy criticize or judge each other’s actions or personal situations. The narrator doesn’t even offer an opinion, good or bad, about the tree or the boy. “The Giving Tree” is simply a story about a relationship between a boy and a tree and the requests they make of each other in their search for happiness.
Think about how you perceived the tree and the boy in this poem. Did you see a happy mother who will do anything to make her child happy even it if means sacrificing herself? Did you see a selfish son who only visits his mom when he wants something? Or an uncaring daughter who knows she can count on her mother even when mom doesn’t have enough for herself? Maybe you saw God or Mother Nature in the tree and sympathized with their unappreciated generosity. Whatever opinion you formed, know that it was in no way influenced by the poem. It all came from you and your perspective.
I challenge you to go back and read my synopsis of the poem or, better yet, read the original version. As you read it, find where the tree or the boy expresses criticism or places blame in the relationship. Where in the poem does the tree or the boy praise themselves or each other for their actions? Where are the words lonely, mother’s love, sacrifice, or co-dependency in the poem? However, you interpreted the poem, again know that it all came from your perspective. And remember, how you perceive others is a direct reflection of how you perceive yourself.
So read the story again. With this exercise learn how life is tailor-made to give you experiences that reflect your perspective of who you feel you are and what you believe to be true. In this example, how you perceive the tree and the boy and their relationship with each other is a direct reflection or “mirror” of how you perceive yourself and your world in a similar situation. The Law of Reflection, also known as Karma, is all about your perspective.
Mother Owl
