"Make Like a Tree and..."

"Make Like a Tree and..."

I've written before about how the word 'tree' is the origin of the word 'truth'.

It was part of my case for the subjectivity of truth in that the word itself comes from something albeit relatively permanent, is absolutely?impermanent. In other words, truths are only as long-lasting as a tree.?

There is more this short history of truth has to offer us though.?

Do you remember Biff's line about the tree in Back to the Future II? It was one of those jokes he tried to make but got wrong...

"Now why don't you make like a tree and get out of here!"?- Young Biff

"It's 'leave' you idiot! Make like a tree and leave!"?- Old Biff

The irony of even the correct version of the joke is that trees, of course, don't go anywhere.

In fact, they do the opposite. They never leave. They stand exactly where they are.

If you'd like to create a truth then - if you'd like to create a way of being that radiates from you as true as the sun rising and the sun setting - if you'd like to be something so profoundly and powerfully that everyone who meets you feels it, sees it and speaks it about you, then the message is simple.

Be like a tree, and stand there.

Stand for that thing which you would love to be.?

But what does it mean to stand for something?

Well, let's say you would like to be the expression of someone who stands for the value of their time. Something like...

"I am that I own my time."

By being this, you might make better use of your time, waste less time, make a bigger difference in the time that you have, and so on.?

As a secondary gain, others may in turn respect your time more powerfully. People will show up on time for you in ways that they don't do for others.?

As a tertiary gain, these others may learn from your way of being with time and find themselves treating their own time with greater respect too.

What would it mean, then, to stand for your declaration regarding time?

It would mean that when your word around your time is challenged, you be like a tree, with your roots deep in the ground, and you just stand there living as the expression of your word.

More specifically, you would end that meeting when you said you would.

How common is it for people to be running 5 minutes late here, there, and everywhere?

The problem with this is not showing up 5 minutes after they said they would. It's showing up 5 minutes late. These are two totally different things.?

In certain cultures, showing up 5 minutes after the agreed time is considered on time. In other cultures, it's considered late.?

When someone is late, they aren't being a tree. They aren't being true to their word. It's not about the clock. It is about the authenticity and integrity of your speaking and how your actions align with this.?

What do you do to yourself when you declare you own your time and then you take actions where you throw your time under the bus? Actions like running late or running over?

Of course, you teach yourself that what you declared around time is not true.

The action cuts much deeper than this though.?

In fact, it cuts like an ax all the way through your young tree, toppling it to the ground before it even had a chance to grow deep roots.?

Not only has your contrary action taught you that you don't own your time, but it has also taught you that what you say is not what you do.?

The impact of not following your declarations with coherent doing is that you trust what you say even less. Your word loses power.?You make your tongue a stranger.

There's more though.?

The real blow, the thing that salts the stump so that there's no chance for new shoots, is that when you act in discordance with your declaration, your self-esteem is undermined. When you act that you don't own your time, you don't just trust your word less, you trust your?self?less. And self-trust is tied directly to self-worth.

In other words, when you say you're going to be something and you don't stand for that, you immediately feel like shit because you have just cut yourself down. You cut down whom you say and thought you were.

You cut down a truth.

In seeing this, if I were to ask you?"Why would you do what you said you'd do?", what might you say?

My hope is that you'd say something like this...

"I do what I say because it is a loving act to stand for what I declare. By doing what I say, I stand for something and by standing, I create truth."

If you said this to me, then I'd respond by saying,?"Wonderful! Now....who are you?"

You might tell me your principles, your beliefs, or your declarations.

And when you'd finished, I'd say one last thing to you.

"Great! Now regarding all these things you say that you are...

Make like a tree and STAND!"

Loving you, JPM

PS - If you'd like help figuring out who you are that is worth standing for - and growing in your freedom, love, and power to stand for these things - then I invite you to explore our support either in my upcoming Master's Circle or Darren's upcoming Creator’s Circle. Both begin in September. You can?reply to this post?to speak with me or learn more about Creator’s Circle here:?https://WeAreCreating.com/creators-circle