“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.” -Albert Einstein

When I create an image in my mind of a beautiful tree with long, plentiful branches reaching towards the sky and vibrant leaves waving in the wind, I think of these branches as…religion, art, and science. Each one of us is that tree.

This tree has a strong trunk and deep roots. Through these roots, trees connected to each other, they have families and communities. A life-changing book for me was The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate - Discoveries from A Secret World by Peter Wohlleben. This book illustrates the beauty and mystery of the life of trees - it’s a must-read.

But back to the tree whose branches are religion, art, and science. If we consider ourselves trees, and that our birth, like any tree birth, is truly a miracle, then we take this a bit further and realize that a tree cannot survive alone. Only through its network of roots and its mother’s protection can it begin to thrive. Is it not the same with us?

The tree then beings to grow and reach for the sky developing branches. Again, is it not like us? We grow as the tree and we then develop, but our branches are not cellulose, they are our thoughts and dreams.

Our thoughts and dreams fall into different categories: religion, art, and science, and through these three branches, we have created the world we live in today. My question is do we need to prune a bit? Conserve water (as a tree does) when drought is approaching? Shed our leaves so when winter comes we are not toppled by excess weight? Do we need to be more flexible so when a strong wind approaches we don’t break but we bend? And do we protect the next seedlings so they, in turn, become healthy, beautiful trees? Our branches can do this.