The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein – a story book my late Grandpa loved dearly.

Different people have different interpretations about this story; to my Grandpa, this story reminded him of how God sacrificed His only son for us.

According to Wikipedia, Timothy P. Jackson, a former professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University put it:

Is this a sad tale?  Well, it is sad in the same way that life is depressing.  We are all needy, and, if we are lucky and any good, we grow old using others and getting used up.  Tears fall in our lives like leaves from a tree.  Our finitude is not something to be regretted or despised, however; it is what makes giving (and receiving) possible.  The more you blame the boy, the more you have to fault human existence.  The more you blame the tree, the more you have to fault the very idea of parenting.  Should the tree’s giving be contingent on the boy’s gratitude?  If it were, if fathers and mothers waited on reciprocity before caring for their young, then we would all be doomed.

I found the actual ’73 Giving Tree Movie spoken by Shel Silverstein in YouTube, so for those who don’t want to read the story but want to watch the Movie, please click below, otherwise, please read on or do both:

The Giving Tree

Once, there was a tree…
And she loved a little boy.
And every day the boy would come
And he would gather her leaves
And make them into crowns and play king of the forest.
He would climb up her trunk
And swing from her branches
And eat apples
And they would play hide-and-go-seek.
And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade.
And the boy loved the tree… very much…
And the tree was happy.

But time went by,
And the boy grew older.
And the tree was often alone.
Then, one day, the boy came to the tree and the tree said,
“Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy!”
“I am too big to climb and play,” said the boy. “I want to buy thing and have fun.  I want some money.  Can you give me some money?”
“I’m sorry,” said the tree, “but I have no money.  I have only leaves and apples.  Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in city.  Then you will have money and you’ll be happy.”
And so the boy climbed up the tree and gathered her apples and carried them away.
And the tree was happy…

But the boy stayed away for a long time… and the tree was sad.
And then one day the boy came back, and the tree shook with joy, and she said,
“Come, Boy come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy.”
“I am too busy to climb trees,” said the boy.  “I want a house to keep me warm”, he said.  “I and want a wife and I want children, and so I need a house. Can you give me a house?”
“I have no house”, said the tree.  “The forest is my house”, said the tree.  “But you may cut off my branches and build a house. Then you will be happy.”
And so the boy cut off her branches and carried them away to build his house.  And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time…
And when he came back, the tree was so happy she could hardly speak.
“Come, Boy” she whispered, “Come and play.”
“I am too old and sad to play,” said the boy.  “I want a boat that will take me away from here.  Can you give me a boat?”
“Cut down my trunk and make a boat,” said the tree.  “Then you can sail away… and be happy.”
And so the boy cut down her trunk
And made a boat and sailed away.
And the tree was happy…
But not really.

And after a long time the boy came back again.
“I am sorry, Boy,” said the tree, “but I have nothing left to give you – My apples are gone.”
“My teeth are too weak for apples,” said the boy.
“My branches are gone,” said the tree.  “You cannot swing on them.”
“I am too old to swing on branches,” said the boy.
“My trunk is gone,” said the tree.  “You cannot climb.”
“I am too tired to climb,” said the boy.
“I am sorry,” sighed the tree.  “I wish that I could give you something… but I have nothing left.  I am just an old stump.  I am sorry…”
“I don’t need very much now,” said the boy.  “Just a quiet place to sit and rest.  I am very tired.”
“Well,” said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, “well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting.  Come, Boy, sit down… sit down and rest.”
And the boy did.
And the tree was happy…

The end.

Ageing*

Do you realise that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we’re kids?  If you’re less than 10 years old, you’re so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

“How old are you?”  “I’m four and a half!”  You’re never thirty six and a half.  You’re four and a half, going on five!  That’s the key.

You get into your teens, now they can’t hold you back.  You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

“How old are you?”  “I’m gonna be 16!”  You could be 13, buy hey, you’re gonna be 16!  And then the greatest day of your life… you become 21.  Even the words sound like a ceremony.  YOU BECOME 21.  YESSS!!!

But then you turn 30.  Oooohh, what happened there?  Makes you sound like bad milk!  He TURNED; we had to throw him out.  There’s no fun now, you’re JUST a sour-dumpling.  What’s wrong?  What’s changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you’re PUSHING 40.  Whoa!  Put on the brakes, it’s all slipping away.  Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dream are gone.

But wait!!!  You MAKE it to 60.  You didn’t think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You’ve built up so much speed that you HIT 70!  After that it’s a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime.

And it doesn’t end there.  Into the 90s, you start going backwards; “I Was JUST 92.”

Then a strange thing happens.  If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again.  “I’m 100 and a half!”

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG:

1. Throw out non-essential numbers.  This includes age, weight and height.  Let the doctors worry about them.  That is why you pay them.
2. Keep only cheerful friends.  The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning.  Learn more about crafts, the computer, gardening, whatever.  Never let the brain idle.  “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”  And the devil’s name is Alzheimer’s.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud.  Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen.  Endure, grieve, and move on.  The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves.  Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.  Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish  your health:  If it is good, preserve it.  If it is unstable, improve it.  If it is beyond what you can improve,  get help.
9. Don’t take guilt trips.  Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

* From the net, there are saying this’s the work of George Carlin; but according to one entry in George Carlin’s website, which links to snopes.com, Carlin offered this bit of wisdom for discerning whether he wrote any of various items attributed to him, “Nothing you see on the Internet is mine unless it came from one of my albums, books, HBO shows or appeared on my website.”