Wisdom and Youth

Spring is arriving quickly here in the South, which means trees are blooming and turning green right in front of our eyes. When I saw these two trees I had to stop and take a picture. It made me think about the relationship between wisdom and youth.

The larger, mature tree is still blooming. It is still sharing it’s beautiful self, taking it’s own sweet time. It is enjoying the sun and rain, the warmer breezes and reaching as tall as it can for the sky. It is as if the big tree knows that blooming is a once a year experience and it wants to savor every moment it can. The smaller, young tree has almost completely turned green. It doesn’t have as much to manage, so changing quickly seems natural. It is reaching tall, almost as if it is trying to be as tall as the mature tree.

The two trees together reminded me of a mentoring relationship. The mature tree is sharing it’s knowledge, it’s wisdom with the younger tree. It shades the smaller tree when it needs it, and protects it from strong winds and rains. As if it is teaching the youthful arbor the way to be a tree. The young tree seems to be absorbing and learning as much as it can about being a tree. It is in a hurry and working hard to live up to the larger tree, even though it has much to learn and experience over the years. Eventually the two trees will be the same size and it will be hard to tell which is which.

It reminded me of the mentoring relationship in offices, workshops and studios across the globe. The wise and experienced workers and artists spend time teaching, growing, and encouraging the youthful generation that follows. These gurus of knowledge and experience share, teach, guide and grow the workers, artists, and leaders of our future. By sharing their expertise and experiences they help shape the future into a better, brighter place.

So who was your mentor, your guide? Who are you mentoring to follow in your foot steps? Maybe you are the big tree leading and teaching the other trees. Maybe you are the green tree learning from those who have grown for years before you existed. I encourage you to find or be a mentor, or both. We can all learn along this life long journey and make ourselves and the world around us better by sharing what it takes to stand tall and strong.