The Majestic Oak

Next to our house, there was a huge oak tree. It took at least three men to hug the trunk.

 

First, it was just a small acorn that you could put in your pocket as a good luck charm. Then water, sun and time allowed that seed to grow and become our majestic oak.

 

Our oak teach us that each of us must first become aware of what we really are, namely a miracle of nature holding the potential of greatness within ourselves. Once we have gained this awareness, we cannot rest on our laurels. We must nurture our seed with “time, water, and sunlight” so that this potential can be realized.

 

Spinoza summarized this concept with a phrase: “To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life”.