Comparisons can be problematic.......

 

Once upon a time there were three trees.

The older, the middle, and the youngest.

 

They grew side by side,

shared the same sun, shared the same earth.

 

When the rain fell, it nurtured the trees equally,

when the wind shook their crowns, they suffered equally,

when their leaves sprouted each spring, they sprouted equally.

 

The two older trees were very proud of the younger tree;

it was young but its beauty undeniable.

They were proud of its ability to weather the storms,

though much younger than them,

and for each new branch that it grew,

the older trees rejoiced.

 

Then came a day when the older tree had to be moved,

the farmer who owned the land, knew that it had to be removed.

To grow stronger and to its full potential,

fresh soil was needed, in fact it was essential.

 

The two trees left standing, missed the older tree,

although its new position, still in the same field.

From a distance they watched the older tree growing,

each year with new branches and leaves over flowing.

 

The farmer, who knew that trees grow best in fertile soil,

decided that for the middle tree, its time, it had now come.

It too had to be removed, to be placed in fresh new ground,

and in his field, a perfect spot, he had sought and he had found.

 

The youngest tree, from a distance did see,

how the middle and the oldest tree,

both flourished and grew, individually.

 

Now on its own, the youngest tree began to ponder,

would it too be removed, uprooted, it wondered.

Seasons passed, but the farmer did not come,

 alas no more uprooting, no removing would be done.

 

"Why not me, why am I left here all on my own,

do I not also, deserve fresh new soil?"

This was a thought that plagued the youngest tree

many a morn and many an eve.

 

Then one summers day, the farmer appeared.

"What now?" thought the youngest tree.

He slowly sat down at the foot of the tree,

then began to speak very kindly.

 

"You may wonder why, my youngest tree,

why I haven't moved you further afield,

 so I have come to explain this decision of mine,

so please listen, though it may take some time.

 

I did not move the oldest or the middle tree because

they were more deserving than you,

I did not give them fresh new soil because

they were more deserving than you,

I simply moved them because trees need space

and fertile soil, in order to grow unhindered.

By removing them, have you not been able to stretch out your roots,

grow more branches, and each year be dressed with more and more leaves just like the oldest and the middle tree?

Do not compare yourself with the oldest and middle tree, be you.

When you see them standing tall and majestic, do not feel less than them, rather, rejoice in the beauty they have to offer, alongside with your own beauty.

I provide the soil, but the growing, is up to each individual tree."

 

After the farmer finished speaking, he stood up,

then slowly walked away across the field.