The Life of a Tree

For those who are unfamiliar with his work, Tyler Perry uses the character Mabel Simmons (or "Madea" to those who know her best) to provide a bit of wisdom in terms of what to actually expect out of life. While I've read numerous reviews that chastize Perry for this portrayal since it often plays upon existing stereotypes, yet I can't help but fall in love with the wisdom of Madea. It may have a bit to do with the fact that I feel Madea typically approaches issues in the way I was raised to believe is appropriate with my family - tackle issues head-on with some genuine common sense, a blunt (almost brutal) sense of honesty and the love and support of a family that is there for you.

While reflecting on a couple things today, I remembered something that Madea once said people in your life. All people in your life can be categorized in terms of a tree. Now since I actually bear the common name of a tree from the western US and Canada, this particularly resonates with me and I wanted to share it with you.



However, I feel that this needs to be expanded upon. Madea establishes a notion that people can fall into the category of leaves, branches or roots. However, since even the leaves are able to give a bit of shade this leads to the belief that all people are beneficial to the tree. It is this notion that I strongly disagree with, and offer the following additional categories

Locusts: In your life, some people are locusts. They do nothing but sap your strength, take what they can from you and attempt to drive you insane with their incessant chirping. Locusts are bad since they are able to hone in on you when you are weakest, and they return time and time again to try and take what they can from the tree. Nothing you can do will keep them away indefinitely, and there is no way of exterminating them all. Even if a tree hardens itself to their advances, there is usually one locust that can find it's way in to attack the tree. Many of my exes are locusts.

Frost: There are people in your life that can sneak up on you and do their best to do immense damage; these people are a frost to the tree. They can creep up in the dead of night without warning and do their best to create an environment so inhospitable to the tree that it is pushed to the point of using it's energy just to survive. The good thing about a frost is that it doesn't last forever. The frost may cause scarring, but if the tree survives it will be that much more unique and appealing to someone genuinely ready to appreciate and care for the tree. My father is a frost.

Bees: Some people in your life are like bees. They flit around from tree to tree, and typically are just trying to get at your nectar. I'm happy to say that I was raised to be a tree that doesn't bloom (my name is the common name of a conifer, actually), so no matter how hard a bee may try they aren't going to get anything from me. That being said, they still try. Bees can be annoying and potentially dangerous to the well-wisher that wants to appreciate the tree. Many of the people who didn't even get a chance to be exes are bees.

There are undoubtedly a great many other categories that could be added, but those are the additions that I think need to be made. Luckily however, I am named after a very good tree - and I share similar traits. My tree is one of the first to recover after a natural disaster, and I can indeed recover from trauma very quickly. My tree is one of the first to grow, able to develop an decent root system to support itself, and I'm glad to say that I have an exceptional support system as well - people who actually earn the title of "my friend" are truthfully very good people.