What to Plant

Last month the city finally removed a troublesome tree from the front of our property. It was a Honey Locust, a variety which I understand is preferred because it doesn't have thorns like the wild locust. This particular tree did produce the odd branch with thorns. Worse, the previous year's growth always died back and the overall shape was a tall, skinny trunk with hundreds of dead twigs like something out of Dr. Zeuss. The city arborist judged that it was diseased, and agreed that it should be removed. A replacement should be planted soon. We got our choice of variety with appropriate size and appearance and suitability for growth in the city. We decide this little bit of the future that will persist long after we are gone.

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. ~ Martin Luther.

Interesting that Luther would make that choice.
There are other ways to spend the last day.
Tell a story to a child.
Hug a friend.

Feed a stranger.
Contemplate the end.

Rob a bank and have one last party.

Eat a whole box of chocolates.

Murder an enemy.

Write down the last chapter of history.

Catch a nap.

In effect, the end being tomorrow, it wouldn't much matter what I do today if the consequence can be delayed. Setting fire to my hair isn't on my list. Overindulging on chocolate is a maybe. There is something to be said for planting a tree. If you would plant a tree, you are the sort of person that will work now for a future that exists only in imagination, a future you may never get to see. 

Why would I bother writing such an obvious truism? It really isn't so obvious. In fact, we are convinced of the opposite, that we cannot make a difference. I am one insignificant person in a crowd of billions. When I am done, what will be will be regardless of my momentary, unimportant presence. 

It isn't hard to see that certain individuals, unlike ourselves, have made a difference. Martin Luther for example, left a legacy that altered the culture of Europe. Among other things, he was critical of the sale of indulgences by the church which enriched itself by pardoning bad behaviour. Good for Luther. The world is a better place because he denounced this abuse of authority. 

Not all the seeds Luther planted were so benign. His antisemitism yielded thorns, a tree now rightly uprooted by generations that envision an ethnically tolerant and inclusive future. We have a say in the future. Every opinion is seed in the spirit of the age. If we can correct the errors we have inherited, our place in the story is not insignificant. 

Today there is planting

and hugs and parties and murders and chocolate.

Tomorrow, 

if it happens, 

there will be fruit

or thorns.