Self . Less

‘He that plants trees loves others beside himself.’ Thomas Fuller

There is a walk I like to take that meanders beside a creek bordered by Eucalypts. Every so often deciduous trees can be seen, planted haphazardly here and there. However, there is one section of the walk, in what would have been an open field, that holds four rows of towering Oak trees. 

Every time I pass them I can’t help but wonder: Who planted these beautiful trees? Why were they planted? Were they in remembrance of a person or another place? What was the significance of the rows? Were the trees planted with some other plans for the area that did not eventuate? Or perhaps they were planted by Chinese immigrants that came to the area in search of gold? (The walking track covers an area called The Diggings where a Chinese settlement existed in the mid 1800s.)

Whoever was responsible, and why, I will probably never know but each and every time I walk past them I am grateful for their selfless effort. All these years later I am blessed to be able to enjoy the fruition of their dreams.