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