A tree in the forest

A tree in the forest once said, "I rarely see the sun. I hardly see the beautiful blue sky. How can I get more sunlight if higher and stronger trees surround me? They get the bigger portion of whatever comes from the sky and what is deep beneath the soil!"

One day, a very strong storm came. The branches of the tall trees were stretched and bent by the wind and heavy rain; the small trees were spared.

One night, an extremely cold wind visited the forest. The leaves and branches of the tall trees almost froze; the small trees were spared.

One summer noon, the highest temperature of the year was reached. The sun's rays are scorching the leaves of the tall trees. The water inside their branches almost dried up; the small trees were spared.

Series upon series of weather extremes continue...

The tree then realized, "O how wonderful it is to be surrounded by higher and stronger trees! When my time comes, I will also be a shelter to smaller trees, resembling what the higher and stronger trees did for me. Probably deliberate, accidental, or rather natural...but definitely, I could only have been blind and slow to appreciate that all those instances enabled me to proceed to the future...and indeed to my time".