She watched the trees bending

in the breeze

Look at how much they bend,

she thought.

I bend too

I have gone with the breeze and bent

and allowed the breeze to blow me

this way and that. 

Was she really the worse for it?

Wasn’t being able to bend a good thing?

Wasn’t it better than rigidity?

She argued with herself.

Ah, but trees do not have to move forward.

They stand where they are planted.

If she wanted to move forward,

bending was not a good thing

It is difficult to move in one direction or the other while bent,

she thought.

It prevented her from seeing where she was going

Perhaps bending is only for trees

that do not move from where they are planted,

who cannot move from where they are planted,

who have no choice.

Yes.

Perhaps bending is what one did

when one had no choice but to bend.

Yes.

Perhaps bending was good for trees

but not good for her.

It made her think she was moving.

It gave her the feeling of movement.

But

bending

is

movement

without

going

anywhere.

She knew then she bent to survive.

She knew then she could only bend so far

before she broke.

I stand and bend

instead of moving, she thought.

as if I too am planted, like a tree. 

As if I cannot move. 

As if I have no will to move. 

I stand and bend even though

I can move from the place I am standing. 

I don’t need to keep bending

and bending

The trees have no choice.

I do.

I can walk tall and straight.

I am not a tree.

Relephant:

How to get Unstuck & Move Forward.

Author: Carmelene Siani 

Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photos: VIctor Tondee/Flickr