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 \u201cYou fat ass.\u201d<\/p>\n
I mean, that would be hilarious, right?<\/p>\n
Well, maybe not for someone who was self-conscious. Or someone who had been called that before by someone with hatred in their heart.<\/p>\n
But lots of us would laugh.<\/p>\n
Some of us would wonder if the tree grew like that naturally, or if there was some designer involved.<\/p>\n
Some people would want to chop down the tree. Or at least prune the branches a bit.<\/p>\n
There would be arguments. \u201cIf you don\u2019t like it, don\u2019t walk by it.\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t go outside when it\u2019s windy.\u201d \u201cMaybe lose a little weight?\u201d \u201cIT\u2019S JUSTA TREE.\u201d<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t want to be too philosophical here, but it seems to me that until you\u2019ve been inside someone\u2019s heart and felt their pain, you can\u2019t really tell them they\u2019re not in pain. Doesn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
Which is not to say I would want to cut down the tree.<\/p>\n
Rather, I\u2019d like to get people to start talking, maybe see if we can shift our perspective.<\/p>\n
You know, it\u2019s not that the tree sounds like a person. It\u2019s that those people sound like the tree.<\/p>\n
Somebody called you a fat ass? That\u2019s not a person talking. That\u2019s just some wind blowing, and it has nothing to do with you.<\/p>\n
This is easy for me to say, I know\u2014no one has ever called me a fat-ass. But I\u2019ve been called other things.<\/p>\n
I try to remember that, 99% of the time, when a person opens his mouth, he\u2019s only describing himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re kind of stupid\u201d really means \u201cI\u2019m kind of a jerk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou fat ass\u201d is the tree\u2019s way of saying \u201cI\u2019m a weird tree.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the only real reply to that is \u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, maybe, the next time someone says something hateful, instead of yelling back, try saying \u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cause then you\u2019ve told them you understand that they\u2019re just being a jerk. And while it\u2019s not necessarily \u201cokay\u201d to be a jerk, some people just need to be allowed to work on their issues on their own.<\/p>\n
Who knows what kind of pain is in the heart of someone who feels the need to shout \u201cI\u2019m a big jerk\u201d all the time.<\/p>\n
At least we know the tree isn\u2019t in pain.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just a tree.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 \u201cYou fat ass.\u201d I mean, that would be hilarious, right? Well, maybe not for someone who was self-conscious. Or someone who had been called … <\/p>\n