The Proverbial Tree

“It’s an obstruction of da' view,” my father says, as he stares at the large tree that’s been on his neighbor’s property for over 30 years now, “it’s getting bigga' and bigga' and I can’t see da' water anymore.” He’ll complain about this until something else distracts his attention from the tree. There’s nothing he can really do about it. It’s my neighbor’s tree, which provides privacy for them. It’s on their property, so it’s not as if my father could say, “take that tree down now!” All he can do is complain about it.

What about the “tree” obstructing our view in life? There’s nothing we can do about it other than complain and make up excuses of why our “life” or “view” isn’t as nice as we want it to be. Are “trees” less beautiful than the water? We can sit around complaining, or we can choose to appreciate what we have in front of us now.

I have a bunch of obstructions in my life. “Oh well, if I made more money, I could do this”, or “If I had this job, I can do that”, and “If only I lost a few pounds, I can fit into those nice jeans again”. I can make up a ton of excuses to cover up my shortcomings of why I’m not getting where I want to be. And if I get it, would I still want it? Would it make me completely happy? Those are the question I have to keep reminding myself. We want what we can’t have. Then, when we finally do get it, we’re not as satisfied as we thought we would have been. I bet you anything, if the neighbors chopped down that tree, my father probably wouldn’t sit outside his porch all that much to appreciate the view of the water.

Things seem to look good from a distance. What about relationships? We’ll “crush” on someone first. We’ll do the chase and try to get them to notice us. Once the chase has developed into a full-fledged relationship- it’s not appealing anymore, is it? Have we conjured up a certain images in our heads to make them look better? Did we lavish it with bells and whistles to make it look more appealing? Our minds play tricks on us, leaving us with thoughts and high hopes. Why can't we look at things for what they are? And those who do (and they are rare) are damn lucky!

It’s just like the scenario of some women going after married men. They like the chase, the excitement and the concept that they can’t have them. And contrary to what most people think—they sometimes do leave their wives. Once the “affair” has become a “relationship”, and the divorce papers are in action, the woman usually decides that 'he isn’t the one for her'.

Are we all chasing after things we don’t want? Why does the novelty wear out on most things, places, people, things and dream jobs? Do our minds simply produce more perks? Then you have your risk takers. If they want it, they’re going to do everything in their power to get it- even if it means finding out in the end that it wasn’t what they wanted to begin with. “At least I’ll know.” That statement’s good enough for them. Should we all be doing this? Should we all be high risk takers in life? Or should we stare at the tree complaining for the rest of our lives?

There is a conclusion of how my father achieved his goal. See the video below of my dad getting what he wants.

It's one of the many reasons I look up to him...of course with the fear of going to jail!