The Tree of Identity

Our world is like a forest with only one fruitful plant and two hungry men and the decisions we make relative to our position to the tree defines our character. In other for the tree to serve its purpose of revealing our real identity, seasonal boundaries and rules listed below were made for the tree;

• the tree has only (3) three fruits
• it allows for only one climb a season
• the fruit that touches the floor cannot be eaten
• and you can only descend with one fruit

Of the two men only one has acquired the ability to climb the tree which puts the future of the man below in his hands. An ideal decision will be to pluck all the fruits for the man below and split it when he gets down but the unevenness of the fruit count (three fruits) has made this decision to be made based on agreement and trust. The man on top makes the wise decision of deciding to descend with one fruit. Now he has to think of the future of the second man.

The selfish climber will pluck only for himself and descend to be the only person with food. This decision reveals a character that is seen among people with the advantage of being successful but decides to do this alone and leave their community behind. They prefer to be the only successful person in their community so they can be worshipped and adored. Their presence in their community shows a massive gap between the rich and the poor.

A business and hopeful climber will negotiate a deal with the man below to pluck two fruits for him and will take one back when he descends living the climber with two fruits and the other man with one; a good deal for both to survive the hunger. When the climber gets down, the other man will have to decide on honoring the deal and prove he is trustworthy or he can be greedy and keep both fruits. An honorable man will honor the deal and maintain the harmony and trust shared between the two.

If he decides to keep both, the climber will have a disappointing experience and a heartbreak that will influence the decisions he makes for the rest of his life. The dishonorable man may not know the effect today but his action is going to decide the future of others and himself.

A peaceful climber will pluck one fruit for the man below and leave one to rot on the tree living everyone an equal share. This will reveal the personality of the climber as a man who does not risk and fears disappointment. He would rather have everything around him stable and equal than to risk enriching his fellow man or getting a heart break. He gives more value to negative possibilities than any future benefit. Men like this do not grow to develop a community but have very good intensions and presents a good character.

In life we make decisions from the positions of the two men and we decide on which one of the two men we want to be. We can learn to climb a tree or stay lazy. The man who learns to climb a tree is the person in life who develops on his personal abilities. He seeks knowledge and learns a skill while he waits for an opportunity or creates the opportunity for himself. This person has his life in his hands and does not need to rely on others for survival.

If you are going to be a climber which type of climber are you going to be? What risk will you be taking? What contributions have you made and how many more will you make to your community? These are the basic questions a climber should ask himself every morning. You hold the power to decide the status of your community and the people will be glad if they benefit from your knowledge. Don’t see them as lazy but see yourself as the climber who will bring out the climbers among them and together you can develop your community.

A dishonorable and greedy person does not deserve to be talked about and I will say to the climber who has lost his trust not to give up hope but continue with the good work and surely he will be rewarded.

Who you choose to be and your position on the tree is a decision you have to make now before opportunities pass you by.