The Goodly Tree

Written on the 7th of January, 2010

 A few days ago I had a dream in which I was being preached to by someone (I want to say it was me because I can recollect the words as being spoken through my own voice.) In my dream, I was being shown the extent of the effects each of my actions had generated, both the good and the bad ones. What was interesting however, was how I remember feeling shocked in my dream to see how incredible it was to witness how far-reaching a simple smile of mine might have gone to brighten not only one person’s day, but that of several people, as my smile’s recipient added my gesture to their own strength and passed on the torch of goodness unto those who needed it. Similarly, I was aghast to witness the ill effects of certain ill deeds I had committed and just how far its effects had spread, was truly frightening to me (at least in the innocence of my dream.) The last part of the dream had me shown the difference between acting righteously irreverent of the good returns and the concept of Karma itself. What I can remember from the dream was that Karma is simply a rule of nature; in that you reap what you sow and that many people use this as a check & balance to encourage good deeds in expectation of further good and fear retribution for ill deeds. The preacher, it seems, was trying to get me to see the difference between this way of thinking and that of being a good or bad “tree” [i.e- the parable of the tree spoken of in the Scriptures of the Qur'an and the Bible.] Living this way was intended to be for its own purpose, and not necessarily for the knowledge of earning future rewards from a good action or prohibiting bad actions for the fear of reprisal. Karma is simply the natural order of consequences under which all actions fall within, and this parable of being the good tree is no exception. So in fact, the voice was simply stating, that like Karma, actions have their consequences and that good actions bear good fruits for future good and bad actions stunt growth and cut off future good. When I had awoke, I felt like I had a new mission in life, (or at least a worthy resolution for the New Year.) I felt that I should live in such a way that, no matter the consequences, I become that “goodly tree;” to live to the best of my abilities and virtues with all whom I interact with, with no regrets for a good deed or well-intentioned action. This, of course, with an air of caution since not all well-intentioned actions are wise actions. That said, I felt this great feeling upon waking up and a renewed spirit to willingly put myself and my interests on jeopardy’s path if it meant ultimate good for more than just myself as each good deed we do for others will not only benefit its recipient but ultimately benefit us as well in some way. This was a feeling I had not felt in years, a feeling I had missed for some time and only felt in the height of my religiosity during my undergraduate college years. Call it a selfless love for my fellow man and woman, my brothers and sisters in humanity. It’s a deep treasure that needs protection from a world of theft and corruption of ideals so pristine they can only live deep within a pure heart. And I am no one to claim such a heart, but at the same time, we must all recognize the divine and pure Source that our hearts come from and that is God. I like to believe there is somewhere in our hearts – in each of us – a special place that cannot be corrupted because it was programmed to be resistant to evil, no matter how close it reaches this sacred spot, sort of like the ultimate hacker-proof file on a computer system, designed by the best of programmers – God Himself. This spot is like our Mecca and holy city where all ill is barred and prohibited from entering and corrupting the very source and essential core of what makes us human. It is this spot to which my dream addresses in each of us. To plant this seed of the goodly tree on the fertile soil of the pure and sacred spot within our hearts. If we start to see ourselves as an unstoppable mechanism for good in this world then we may just be able to overcome many of the obstacles to peace that we once thought insurmountable and unscalable. We should, from time to time, reflect on a simple bad deed we have done and see just how that behavior affected so many others on multiple levels. If that be the case of a simple bad action then what of a great one, and the greatest of our blunders? Similarly, we can restore hope by reflecting on the simple good acts and the greatest of good acts we’ve done and how much they really mean and weigh in the eyes of reality itself. We measure the value of something by the weight of its consequence but when the measurement is off due to the imperceptibility of each atom of weight, we are thrown off. Reality will be the judge of our actions, atom by atom, and give us our due by the true weight of what we have done on this Earth. This is only a reminder to myself and all of you who read this that we can avoid becoming the barren seed and tree which bears no fruit or use. We are each given life so that our life can give rise to more life, not that we restrict it, oppress it, or sentence it to death. We can each try at least to live like the goodly tree, whose roots are strong, skin is tough, branches are always ready to catch a blessing and provide food and rest for those under our care and when we pass from this world, our wood will give use to more positive ends. This is the meaning of the dream and I hope you and I can achieve it in our lifetimes, ameen.