Believe it or not, drawing this tree took me a good 20 minutes.
So, this tree, Erma, is a wonderful evergreen tree. She grows, and stays green all year long. One day, a person came by, saw in hand, and said, "Oh hey. You're still here? Man, I can't believe we missed you!" As he continued, Erma got more curious. "Well, hey. Everybody has been trying something new, and I can help you join in! All you do is take your branches apart and scatter them around. It looks really cool!"
"I don't get it. If I do that, I won't be whole. I'll be all broken up, and my roots wouldn't be able to do anything for me. I wouldn't be connected to them anymore."
The person stood there, baffled, and said, "Well, okay. Let me know when you change your mind." He walked to another tree nearby and soon started sawing off limb by limb of the neighbor tree.
Then, some rock salt came sauntering (haha or should I say saltering...) by and said, "Hello, Erma! I have a special idea for you! Do you know what I am?"
"You look like salt to me."
I think a more accurate term would be crystal. And I'd be willing to sit down by your roots to add a little glimmer to ya! I really would!"
Erma stared at the rock salt. "No thank you. If you go chillin' around my roots, you'll kill me and make it so no other tree can grow in this ground. I'd be ruined, and so would this soil."
The rock salt scowled and moved forward.
Next came a small insect, a woolly adelgid. (This is, in fact, a real thing. I did my research.) Erma watched it crawl up her branches, not knowing how to respond. The bug softly whimpered, "Hello there. I've been looking long and hard for a place to stay. Gosh, you'd do me a great favor to let me live here on your branches so that I can have a place for my family to stay. Others would call you a saint for your kindness to me."
Erma surveyed this strange insect and replied, "I know what you are. If you nest in my branches, I'll be a goner. I've seen so many fall prey to you. Please go away."
Now the interpretation. You're Erma. You have roots and good ground and beauty. You have an identity. Many people try to steal or change that identity. They want to tear you down, through guilt, bribery, and lots of other methods.
The point is that you need to decide if you truly believe that you're an evergreen. What does that mean? How is the world going to change that identity of yours?
If we don't know who or what our threats are, we can't defend ourselves from it. OWN your identity and don't let the dumb world get in the way!
