WISDOM BENEATH ITS BRANCHES

When I am in Austin, I live across the street from the Texas State Capitol building. There is never a dull moment on the Capitol grounds, with musical concerts, protests and picnics taking place regularly. Summer is always filled with schoolchildren and visitors from around the world who want to enjoy the tree-filled property and the grandeur of the Capitol building. And, of course, Texas boasts that our building looks just like the U.S. Capitol building, but a tad bigger.

However, there is one tree on the grounds that captures my attention and admiration every time I pass by it. The huge, 500-year-old live oak has large branches that bend over to touch the ground below. A marker by the tree advises everyone not climb on it to protect it.

At our ranch, we have thousands of trees, and perhaps some take trees for granted. I cannot. Each of these mighty oaks started as a tiny acorn. It's hard to believe such magic begins beneath the earth and springs into trees that give us shade and leave us in awe of their stature. Those that survive the decades through unknown peril are perfection to my heart!

Perhaps our dreams and ideas are like acorns. They start as a tiny seed of an idea and grow into miraculous projects and productions. I certainly know some of my small concepts grew beyond my imagination with care, the right environment and encouragement.

As a child, we had a little painting of a tree hanging in our home. Beneath it was the poem "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer. I hope you'll ponder the first line of this poem: “I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree.” He was admitting that no matter what we create as artists or poets, we cannot match an awesome tree. He concludes: “Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.”

Writing to you from the shade of an old oak tree,

Gay Gaddis

Founder. Author. Artist. Trailblazer.

Sign up for Gay’s bi-monthly newsletter, True Grit, offering inspiration on how to kick ass in business and life.