The Love between the Speaker and the Giving Tree
A Gift of Selflessness
Once upon a time, there was a giving tree whose trunk and branches resembled the shape of a woman's body. The tree loved the speaker who would come by everyday to play with it in its youth, to rest under its shade during middle age, and to take its apples and its branches for building his house and his boat during old age. The speaker, however, had no idea why the tree always offered him what he needed with open arms. He simply came by and took and took until there was nothing left but the tree's stump. When the speaker found nothing else he could take, he moved far away from the tree to live with his family and eventually with his loneliness. The tree, by then, was a mere memory of his childhood that would not leave him.A Cry for Love
Years went by and the speaker grew old and unhappy without the tree. He regretted his use of the tree and his lack of appreciation for what the tree had given him. One day, the speaker came back to the tree, only to find a stump. He cried and apologized to the tree for his selfishness and ignorance. He cried not because of the apple he might take again or the branches he might need again, but because of the love he had felt from the tree. The tree, with the last of its strength, offered him its trunk to sit on and rest. The tree, with the last of its will, offered him its shade to cool off. The tree, with the last of its love, offered him its self to make him happy.A Lesson of Love
The speaker finally realized the gift of selflessness that the tree had given him. The tree had never expected anything in return for what it had given. It had never kept count of what it had given. And it had never thought twice about how much it had left. The tree had pure and selfless love. The speaker, however, had expected everything in return for what he had taken. He had kept count of what he had taken. And he had thought of how much he could still take. The speaker had impure and selfish love. The speaker learned from the tree that love is not about taking, but about giving. And that love is not about expectations, but about freedom. The speaker learned to love because of the tree. And the tree learned to love more because of the speaker. In conclusion, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is not just a children's book about a tree and a boy. It is a story about the love between two beings, about selflessness and generosity, about selfishness and greed, about regret and forgiveness, and about growth and transformation. The speaker and the tree represent two opposite ways of loving and living. The speaker represents the flawed nature of humanity, while the tree represents the perfect nature of nature. The book reminds us that we need to learn from nature how to love ourselves, others, and the world unconditionally and selflessly. The book reminds us that we can grow into better human beings if we listen to and speak with nature respectfully and honestly. The book reminds us that we need love as much as we need air and water and that love is the only cure for the loneliness and the suffering of the soul.
