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The Woods and What They Taught Me About Life
Experience (in nature) really is the best teacher
I was walking through the woods today when I thought about something — why does the bark of a tree fall off? I have seen thousands, if not millions, of trees in my lifetime. Never have I ever considered what bark is for or why it falls off of the tree.
After a quick Google search when I got back from my walk, I learned that bark’s primary purpose is to protect the tree. Fair enough. But that didn’t explain why it falls off.
Then I realized it’s all because of how a tree grows. A tree has to shed its outer layer and form new protection continually. When it’s unhealthy, that protection is not as fortified against the elements and peels more quickly than it can create new bark.
How often do we have to do that ourselves? When we grow, our boundaries change. Our protections shift. When we’re unhealthy, we’re unprotected and weather the elements without help or support from that outer layer.
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach.” — Henry David Thoreau
