Infrastructure and Lipstick

Oops! - This post was written over a month ago and was left in draft mode.
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OK, work with me here. I took one of my little walks this morning and amongst all kinds of gratitude for life, the great outdoors, fall beauty and faith filled feelings, I had this thought.

Look at the tree without leaves. Look at the design. The strength of the trunk. The lesser strength of the main branches, limbs and sub-limbs. The very well positioned tiny little twigs that extend past those.

This is the infrastructure, the foundation, the firmly rooted (literally) system that makes up what we call a tree.  It works against gravity to push up toward the sky - day in and day out, week after week, year after year. I don't know what percentage of seeds make it into trees. But, I do know that I live in a forest along with everyone else along the East Coast.

I used to think that these parts of the tree were ugly. Brown, gray, camouflage, white - always fairly basic.

Until recently, when I've taken to looking at the bare trees just as much as the leaves.

The leaves come and ...they go. Every year. They start green and move into beautiful assortments of color throughout the year.

They are the lipstick. Multiple colors. All kinds of brands and quality levels. Easily wiped off.

But, we often look at the lipstick level of our surroundings - people, homes, things - and miss what really makes them strong, firm, and deeply rooted. Forgetting that it is the day by day, week by week, year by year efforts that make us to the core and with all the necessary appendages.

And, yet, as I say this I am partially wrong. The tree needs the leaves and the leaves need the trees. The way the infrastructure of the tree is set up best displays the quality of the leaves. The leaves add a "cloak of loveliness" to the strong and unbending trunk.

Just some fall thoughts...