Once there was a small thorny tree...it was very very unhappy...its branches and leaves were
gnarled and thorny while all the trees of the majestic
forest were tall straight and magnificent. So the tree prayed to God/Allah/The Great
Iam for leaves and branches that were soft and smooth,
lush and straight... before it went to sleep at
night.
In the morning when the forest was awakening the tree
awakened to find it was taller and straighter. Its leaves and branches were straight, and without
thorns. As it was admiring its beauty a group of deers
wandered by. They spied the small trees soft succulent
leaves and wandered over.
"My,"said one deer, "Isn't it amazing such a wonderful treat to eat in the midst of the forest."
All of the other deer agreed and proceeded to eat the small trees leaves.
When all the small trees soft bark and leaves were gone the deers left the barren small tree's
area.
The tree stood there in the forest looking rather sad and
hurting from the wounds the deer had inflicted while filling their bellies. So the tree prayed
to God before going to sleep again, "I would like leaves made
of glass such that no deer will ever eat them again."
In the morning when the forest noises awakened the small tree again it found God had heard its
prayers and made it leaves into glass. As it was admiring its
wonderous leaves and thinking to itself that no deer shall
ever remove my leaves again a very large
thunderstorm began.
As the rain came down in torrents the small trees leaves began to shatter, break and fall off from
the heavy rain. When the rain was over all of the leaves from the tree were fallen upon the ground and it was barren
again. As it stood there in it misery it thought for a long
long time.
Before it went to sleep it prayed to God
"I would like leaves of gold."
In the morning the tree awakened to find that God had heard its prayers and it had leaves of
gold which sparkled brightly in the sunlight in the forest...It sparkeled so much
indeed that a group of travelers passing by saw the leaves...and came closer to
look...
"Can you believe it a tree that grows leaves of gold..we must take it home with us." said one
traveler.
"No we will have to get the cart if we plan to do
that..an it is a days journey home from here." said the other.
"Well we must at least take the leaves so no one else will find the tree and
mark the tree well." said another
traveler...
So they all stripped the tree barren of
its leaves.
They tree stood there bruised and barren
thinking for a long long time.
At night before it went to sleep it prayed again to God. I would like to be as I was for never was I
taken advantage of so much nor was I hurt so much.
In the morning it awakened to the forest. It was still barren. And it wept.
But at night fall it prayed again to the Great Iam to be as it had been and had not appreciated how
God had made it.
But again in the morning it awakened to
be barren.
And this night the tree asked for forgiveness from Allah
for it had not seen what a marvelous
thing it had been made in all of Allah's wisdom.
But again in the morning as it awakened it saw it was still barren...
and it stood there... and finally said to God...Well I thank you for allowing me to see my
foolishness and your great wisdom...I can only pray that when my leaves grow back they will have thorns.
Don't let anyone ever tell you are not good enough...when a person is pointing
a finger they are pointing four back at themselves. People who have nothing good to say ever often
say too much bad and bring too much bad upon this earth....I have done wonderful things for people and
helped many people. Those people who treated me poorly are now the ones everyone is pointing at.
Remeber this when you see people pointing at others what do they do when you are not around. What a person
does to anyone they will definitely do to you in the long run. Walk away, change your class, find another
teacher, get another doctor, get another opinion, find a friend, find a good person...don't believe what they have
to say for too often the only way for them to do better and be better is by knocking you down or keeping you down.
Have you ever seen a bully pick on someone bigger or badder or better than they are? Remember this and don't become
a party to the ugliness that too many people have learned and disseminate. Everything you do to make the world a better
place will make it a better place for you and the people around you...also your children and your children's children. The
reverse goes for any ugliness you do...everything ugly you do will make the world an uglier place for you, the people around
you and the world your children will inherit.
