What if there was a tree in a town square that had branches on it such that, when the wind blew just right, it sounded as if the tree was saying “You fat ass.”
I mean, that would be hilarious, right?
Well, maybe not for someone who was self-conscious. Or someone who had been called that before by someone with hatred in their heart.
But lots of us would laugh.
Some of us would wonder if the tree grew like that naturally, or if there was some designer involved.
Some people would want to chop down the tree. Or at least prune the branches a bit.
There would be arguments. “If you don’t like it, don’t walk by it.” “Don’t go outside when it’s windy.” “Maybe lose a little weight?” “IT’S JUSTA TREE.”
I don’t want to be too philosophical here, but it seems to me that until you’ve been inside someone’s heart and felt their pain, you can’t really tell them they’re not in pain. Doesn’t matter if they hurt because a real person said nasty things to them, or if it was just the sound of the wind in a weird tree. Pain is pain.
Which is not to say I would want to cut down the tree.
Rather, I’d like to get people to start talking, maybe see if we can shift our perspective.
You know, it’s not that the tree sounds like a person. It’s that those people sound like the tree.
Somebody called you a fat ass? That’s not a person talking. That’s just some wind blowing, and it has nothing to do with you.
This is easy for me to say, I know—no one has ever called me a fat-ass. But I’ve been called other things.
I try to remember that, 99% of the time, when a person opens his mouth, he’s only describing himself.
“You’re kind of stupid” really means “I’m kind of a jerk.”
“You fat ass” is the tree’s way of saying “I’m a weird tree.”
And the only real reply to that is “Okay.”
So, maybe, the next time someone says something hateful, instead of yelling back, try saying “Okay.”
Cause then you’ve told them you understand that they’re just being a jerk. And while it’s not necessarily “okay” to be a jerk, some people just need to be allowed to work on their issues on their own.
Who knows what kind of pain is in the heart of someone who feels the need to shout “I’m a big jerk” all the time.
At least we know the tree isn’t in pain.
It’s just a tree.