Support by getting this little book The Meadow, the Hill, and the Sea There was a meadow, which one day would become the site for a house and its family, but the concern now is the meadow. One side of the meadow had a healthy stream running by. It bordered a great forest. There was a hill on another side; it protected the meadow from the Sea on the other side of it. The Boisterous Triumvirate The meadow had three young trees, an Oak tree, an Elm tree and a Locust tree. They stood like three friends talking all the time… and they were. They formed a boisterous triumvirate. They shared stories of the life they lived and knew in the meadow. Through many sun filled, and many rain filled moments they persevered. Unprotected from the elements like the other trees across the river, whose spans protected one another, they were not as tall, but they were stronger and wiser for it in their own ways. At the base of the hill stood the Oak, the Elm was in the middle and as one might expect, the Locust stood on the bank of the healthy stream. Ominous Ominous! There came a particular happening that they, and everyone around them, heard a rustling, stomping, and a wild yowl the likes of which they never heard. But it sounded like a noise they had heard about, for they had heard about a legendary creature… a creature of legend, the Legend of Thusaitha. Thusaitha, thought to be a myth by some, was a creature everyone had heard about, everyone told stories about, and everyone could definitely do without, be it real or mythological. Madness Madness! On this particular occasion, Thusaitha was mad. Thusaitha was always, always… mad. You see, Thusaitha, having essence, indeed existing, had an outlook, he had a take on things, as it were. His take was that everything, but everything in existence, everything, everything in the whole Universe, everything known and everything unknown, everything possible, and anything that might be imagined to possibly exist… existed for one reason, for the sole and incendiary purpose of making him unhappy. This is what he knew. It was what was known to him; his perspective, his subjective analysis… it was his ’world-view’. Thusaitha stood on the bank of the other side of the stream, opposite the three friends. Startlingly, and very loudly, loudly enough that everyone in the general vicinity could hear, with no warning, he roared:“I DON’T LIKE THE RESPONSE I’M GETTING FROM YOU THREE TREES!”The triumvirate was perplexed, that had no idea that there was a response requirement, or a non-response that was or was not expected to be appropriate toward Thusaitha. Even more surprisingly, and with less warning the Locust tree reasoned humbly: “We’re just standing here, what else would you expect us to do? We’re trees.” Poor Oak Tree Everyone cringed, because everyone knew, it’s really not best to create any more to serve the sole purpose of making Thusaitha even more unhappy. Because everyone knew that everything existed, and every possibility, every imagination served the sole purpose of making Thusaitha unhappy. It was his ‘world-view’. It’s what was known to him, so one would not take the chance of creating any new possibility by talking, or doing anything else at all for that matter… at least until he went away, and took his ‘world-view’ with him. Thusaitha looked the Locust tree up and down:‘I’M GOING TO DESTROY YOUR FRIENDS!’ reeled Thusaitha, Then he jumped across the stream and bound up into the Oak tree and began snapping limbs and tearing at the leaves like something wild and MAD. This did not please Thusaitha because nothing pleased Thusaitha, but he did deem the Oak tree wise.“You are wise Oak tree, you know better than to fight me, it’s not going to make me happy, but I’m going to let you live, BUT I’M GOING TO DESTROY YOUR FRIENDS!” Poor Elm Tree Thusaitha lit onto the Elm tree and began stripping it’s bark and snapping the branches. The Elm tree never fought back, he allowed his bark to slide off easily. Again, it was no pleasure to Thusaitha that things were going so smoothly for him, because he never took any pleasure, but he did deem the Elm tree wise. “It is wise of you Elm tree, to not fight me, I am going to let you live, even though it makes me so unhappy. “BUT NOW... I WILL DESTROY THE LOCUST!” Precocious Locust Running up to the Locust tree, Thusaitha grabbed a branch and flung himself into the heart of the tree. The branches were not snapping and the bark was very tough, the harder Thusaitha tried to hurt the tree the more frustrated he became. Warning the Locust tree, Thusaitha screamed: “DON’T FIGHT ME LOCUST TREE, YOUR REGRET WILL BE WORSE THAN MINE.” The Locust tree just could not be phased by Thusaitha, who was being treated as though he was just another summer breeze gracing the lofts of the Locust tree. The locust branches are by their nature very flexible, they do not snap, the bark is hewn close to the meat of the tree, it does not slide off easily. The Foreboding Silence Suddenly, Thusaitha grew extremely silent. This was very disconcerting to everyone.Thusaitha jumped down from the Locust tree and faced it, furrowing his brow. He latched onto the Locust tree, and with mendacious force he tore the tree out of the ground by the roots. He held the Locust above his head; he turned and faced the hill. Then Thusaitha threw that Locust tree over the hill and into the Sea. The splash was heard throughout all the outlying areas of that particular location. It is thought by most, that Thusaitha was the very closest he could have ever gotten to having the slightest inclination toward moving to any degree of satisfaction. Unfortunately, as we all know by now, that is not a part of Thusaitha’s experience. The Fury Looking at the crater, where the ball of the Locust tree root system once set, Thusaitha surveyed the ground around it. He saw the root paths of overturned soil in all directions. He realized something at that moment as he saw a surviving, root dangling out of the bank on the other side of the healthy stream. He deduced that the tree had grown roots under the stream and it intermingled with its own, the roots of the trees on the other side of the stream. The handsome little root was dangling itself ever so gracefully into the stream, taking in the nutrients and feeding the other trees through a deeper matrix of roots on the other side of the healthy stream. In spite of the Locust being removed from the Meadow, his influence and significance was still impacting the meadow positively. Thusaitha did not win. Thusaitha leapt across the stream and with a mad yowling, stomping and rustling, in the most deep and sincerely heinous, inherent unhappiness… Thusaitha, without any other kind of explanation, since the science of it could not be described... simply imploded. There was a loud “thwack!” and a burst of sick, green light, like lightning. There was a certain odor in the air. That was the end of Thusaitha. There was the concussion and a cloud and the miserableness of Thusaitha was momentarily felt from that point in all directions. It is recorded by some that this event was the actual origin of sadness. The Time of Sadness The two remaining friends had a lot to deal with right now. They were devastated; they had lost their dear, lifelong friend, the Locust tree. They had to get on with life, and help one another through this difficult time. In fact, everyone near the meadow who knew the three, and who lived there, all the animals and the other trees, were all very sad, and the loss was felt by all of them. Memories Existence continued, and suns came and went, and moons too. The Oak tree and the Elm tree were now a duo, inseparable as usual and of course they missed their friend dearly and thought of him often. There were changing Seasons. They told the wild stories of their lives with the Locust tree there in the meadow, all the pranks and merrymaking, and the sharing of hardships too. These two had grown older, and taller, and the Oak tree could just about see over the top of that hill, the one that protected them from the Sea. And then one day he finally could. Utter Joy The Oak Tree saw something, something odd and curious. He saw the Sea on the other side of the hill, the Sea they had all heard about, the Sea that they all heard when the Locust tree splashed into it so long ago. The Oak tree saw the Sea for the first time and related what he saw to the Elm tree. But there was something else. He saw what looked like the leaves of a tree, waving and gently riding the tides of the Sea. Could it be? Well, being land-locked... and... Being a tree, there was no experience, to serve with reason to think other than that he saw his old friend the Locust tree waving to him from just under the surface of the water. He surmised and explained to his dear friend the Elm tree that the Locust must have discovered a method to survive, his roots were growing into the bottom of the Sea and his branches were reaching toward the Sun. The Elm tree and the Oak tree wept and laughed for joy! The Elm tree would have to be content to wait till he grew tall enough to see his old friend, and he did. Together the two of them would peer over the hill and wave to their friend in the Sea. Occasionally, they would notice creatures that were strikingly similar in appearance to Thusaitha, though they did not appear to be out of their minds. They would see these creatures floating into the Sea and gather up their friend’s leaves and hang them up to dry in the sun. They heard tell that whoever ate the leaves would become deeply nourished, more resilient, and would perhaps enjoy a long-life. This came as no surprise to the Oak and the Elm. For they had known their dear friend the Locust through much existence, and they agreed, if anyone could adapt to the situation he found himself in, it was the Locust, whom they deeply resp
