Be mindful of who you surround yourself with and who you look up to. You may not be getting the whole picture.

 The Sapling

 The Sapling lifted its head towards the chink of light as the sun cast its gaze down through the forest. The small gap in the canopy above was only illuminated each day for a brief amount of time, and the warmth from the sun was a welcome arrival for the Sapling. It looked around at the other trees in the forest, all taller than it, some considerably so.

At this moment, a thought arose within the Sapling’s consciousness. It pondered this for a moment or two before, summoning up enough courage, he looked towards the tallest tree in the forest – The Great Oak.

‘Excuse me, Great Oak,’ the Sapling said. ‘Can I ask a question of you, oh wise one?’

The Great Oak lowered its head and peered at the impertinent stripling below. ‘What is it you want to know?’

‘Being so tiny,’ the Sapling began, ‘I cannot see beyond the canopy above. Please tell me what lies beyond the land of the trees?’

The Great Oak laughed. ‘Nothing,’ it said. ‘There is nothing beyond our land.’

‘But,’ the Sapling insisted, ‘there must be.’

The other trees, surrounding the Sapling, bent their heads closer and began to mutter amongst themselves, for it was forbidden to contradict the Great Oak – The oldest and wisest of all the trees.

‘I am the tallest and wisest of all our kin,’ the Great Oak bellowed. ‘I alone know what lies beyond our realm.’

‘But–but,’ the Sapling stammered as its courage began to ebb.

The Great Oak laughed again, but this time his laughter was full of derision for the little tree. ‘This puny sapling thinks he knows more than me,’ it roared.

The other trees began to laugh at the Sapling, jeering and muttering their annoyance at this impudent individual. The Sapling, cowed by this, lowered its head.

‘There is nothing beyond our land, little one,’ the Great Oak said. ‘Nothing.’ The Great Oak stood tall again and turned away from the Sapling as the other trees’ conversation receded.

The Sapling lifted its head as the sunlight that had warmed its leaves for the briefest of time passed by, and the Sapling returned to the shade of the forest.

John Regan, 2021.