10/20/2010 – A Lesson in Superficiality

In Autumn, the trees adorn themselves with the most splendid coats of bronze, gold, silver, copper, and gradients of opulent color. One tree outside my condo window adorns itself with deep royal red on the inside, and bright sunny gold on the inside. The gradient unfolds smoothly through gold and oranges from the molten core of color to the cool, bright and royal purple exterior. With each passing day I see the gradient shift and change as the gold brilliance radiates from the inside of the tree out to its outstretched branches. The aspen trees that surround it rattle their perfectly round leaves like a rain of coins glistening and sparkling in the sun.

The wind shakes and agitates them and they soar throat the air – look at me, look at me – before sinking slowly, or plummeting to the ground to lay dead, motionless, and ultimately lifeless – their last sputtering flight a summation of the result of temporary stardom. You’re dead, boring, and you will be forgotten when the next wave of bright stars glistens through the sky.

While the tree visibly displays its splendor to the world, the lesson of what is essential and of true value is hidden in plain view. The splendor the tree displays on the outside, in the firmity of its year is only superficial and is destined to fall away, die, and turn into nothingness. The true treasure, the sap is widthdrawn from the leaves and traverses down through the vast network of branches into the trunk, finally sinking into the deepest part of the root system, where it is treasured and hidden away.

The irony is that the superficial splendor occurs when the deepest splendor is withdrawn and preserved. While the deepest vitality is hidden away, the brightness of royal color flashes like fool gold in a pan, and disappears in a matter of weeks. The tree lets go of its splendid coat because it knows that the true splendor is hidden in the depths. In this way, the tree inspires us by its display, but the display itself is a celebration of the wonder of the year that has gone by, and the readiness to plunge willingly into death. The tree knows how to live, and how to die. It need not be showy throughout its year of accumulating virtue, and just like the old sage at the end of his life inspires all by his celebration of the simple joy of life, he goes willingly to his grave, content in the knowledge that what is really essential is stored in the depths of his spirit.

In a society where beauty and splendor is prized above all else, superficiality and the quest to maintain external beauty belies the emptiness and void inside that indicates the ultimate worthlessness of external displays of splendor. Self-worth and self-esteem is the realization of the preciousness and appreciation of the essential that is within the heart, soul, and mind of the wise. To the wise, the external display of richness is of no importance, and many a sage will dress and keep themselves in such an external state that they look more like a shabby beaten down, gnarly old tree than a brilliantly clad rose or lily - for the sage knows that the rose and lily know that their beauty is oh so temporary. The effort to look brilliant one’s whole life, to look good, to avoid looking bad, to make people like you, adore you, respect you, admire you and appreciate you is ultimately exhausting of the essence of life itself. Admiration is fleeting. When you’ve run out of your showiness and display, people move on to give attention to the next brightest glowing star. When young and filled with external brilliance, the girl will be cast as the daughter, the protagonist – and all watch her in wonder. As she ages, she’s cast as the mother, and eventually the grandmother or the hag, and most lose interest in her – they all look to the next bright star.

The tree knows that it can look ordinary through the whole year, because its cultivating its essence, and it can look ugly and lifeless while it reflects on the wisdom of life in the winter. It knows that there are two appropriate times to expose its splendor to the world at large – in spring, where it demonstrates its creativity, providing a new vision for what is possible, and in autumn when it shares with the world what it has learnt, the wisdom it has gathered, and the essence of life that it has captured from being alive.

When we encounter a Metal client, do we see richness and depth of spirit behind an ordinary exterior, or do we see lavishness and external manifestation of beauty? Do we see a client who loves life deeply and calls themselves and others to be their best, or do we see someone who finds no value in themselves or the friends and family in their life? Do we see someone knowledgeable, filled with valuable experience who attempts to instruct others in what the best way to life is while shunning those who don’t listen or agree with their self-righteous point of view, or do we see someone who quietly exudes wisdom, doesn’t require others to accept, value, or adore them, but teaches through example? Do we see someone who’s spiritually cut off and empty from themselves and their loved ones and gathers money, riches, and awards for recognition, or do we see someone who’s humble, inspired, connected to themselves, and who calls us to the essential? Do we feel down, and heavy in their presence, or are they a breath of fresh air?

Will we savor the essences of life and pass it on to future generations where our contribution will live on in the lives of others, or will we glisten in temporary splendor, and ultimately die, get buried beneath the ground, where our tomb stone will grow moss and over the ages the last engraved words to define who was laid down are long gone, erased by time, and forgotten?