that is not a tree
i had a teacher
one time, and she
pointed at a tree and said,
"That is not a tree."
because whatever that living
entity is, that has grown up out
of the earth, grown up from a seed,
and has become this massive entity
over decades, decades and decades,
maybe over more than 100 years, 150 years,
this massive "tree" that has grown out of the earth,
and it has leaves, and it can do photosynthesis,
and it can take carbon monoxide and turn it
into oxygen, and it produces acorns. If it's
a white oak, or red or oak, or whatever,
it can produce fruit, if it's a fruit tree
and whatever that living
entity is, that has grown up out
of the earth, it is so much more
than can ever be captured
by a single word,
or a single
thought,
or a single concept,
or a single abstraction
that is not a tree
and so ideas
can help us point towards
something, concepts, words,
thoughts, abstractions from reality
can help us point towards reality,
but they're not reality
so when I point
and I say, "Look at that tree."
you know what I'm pointing towards
and now you an look at the tree
but to truly see the tree, you've
got to drop the thought, the
abstraction, the concept,
the word, the idea that
that is a tree
and now you can inquire
into that, as if for the first time,
and know it, as if for the first time,
and know it in a new way
