I was on a walk recently & I began to think of awareness & the lack thereof in the form of a tree.

In my mind, the phrase, “the root of the problem”, poetically asserts that the true issue of any problem is often obscured by internal & external awareness & negligence. To get to the truth of a matter, using this backdrop of forestry, one must dig deep & rummage through sediments & sentiments that lead to the true obstacles – the “root” of our problems.

Yet, are we safe in assuming that we begin our journeys of knowledge near the earth itself-grounded & steadfast in determination to see the truth? Or are we somewhere near the apex of the tree – branched & segmented away from truths that are upholding our existence regardless of our acknowledgement?

Accounting for malicious mechanisms that attempt to distract & dilute truths like paywalls & measured misinformation, can one be certain that they know anything for certain? That they know the root of a thing? Where it came from? Where it leads to?

In this world of marketed extravagance & flashing lights, our conspicuous consumption requires a certain willingness to be blinded by our innate need for immediate gratification & easy answers. To be blinded by the choice between digging deeper or accepting what is on the surface or simply presented as the truth.

This blinding existence, as bright as the sun at times, expresses the duality of the state of truth when imagined as being a part of a tree: the subterranean critters, the excavators of the “roots” of an issue are hardly exposed to the jarring lights of fanaticism & idolatry & would not be naturally sustained in the light of these external truths; contrarily, the branches, the leaves, the fleeting sky dwellers that perch there are accustomed to the enticing quality of the presented half-truths & the lights that shine upon them.

In the simplest of ways, the tree is the living example of the lie. Above the soil, we find the trunk, the beginning of the path towards the truth. Upon the first large branch closest to the ground, protruding smaller branches are the first lie & the multitude of smaller branches & leaves, along with all the fauna thereafter are the individuals that find sustenance from a half-truth or blatant lie.

The second large branch just a bit higher along the trunk is the second lie, the second layer of malicious marketing for good measure. The branches & leaves from this section, in my mind, are the individuals that will inevitably find sustenance in the lower branch but they aren’t all that concerned with finding the truth anyways, they’d rather bask in the blinding lights like the apex of the tree many branches further up, almost unaware of the existence the lower branches have as they are sustained by completely different truths.

The further down the tree, closer to the trunk, closer to the truth, is the darkest part of the tree, excluding the root system; much like in our collective pursuit for the truth, we encounter periods of depression, sadness, hopelessness & all the various feelings of darkness while those sustained by a falsehood live in a state of blissful, blinding ignorance. The dance & the space between this dark & light is another way of perceiving komorebi (pronounced koh-mo-reh-bi, click for the definition).

What are the root of our problems? What things are distracting us from realizing the truths? Is there an optimal space to inhabit along the tree or is it all more or less the same if one is sustained where they are at?

I think the quote, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants” by Thomas Jefferson imparts new understanding from this perspective; some want to hear nothing but the truth, some are in no way concerned with the truth & there’s always someone who’s trying to hide the truth. Nothing is more liberating than the truth & those who fight to obscure truths do not wish you or I to be free, whether it be through mental slavery or physical.

Find your truths, hold onto them & assess from where they came. Dig deeper & get to the root of the problem the next time a salesman, a politician or some regular passerby says that you need what they’re offering; do you really need what they’re selling? Do you think there’s anything they’re not telling you?

Get to the bottom of it before all the trees are gone & all truth is gone or only accessible post-purchase.

Thanks for reading.

A nice song about the trees:

© 2022 Zakariyas James. First shared here at theruminationcompilation.wordpress.com.