Did you ever stop to think... and confuse everyone around you?

Ivy and moss on a dead tree. ©Teresa Shumaker. 

While birding the other day, this tree made me stop in my tracks. As I stared at it in wonderment, my birding companions thought I had spied some interesting bird. Once they realized the tree was empty, and I was just lost in reverie, they moved on. It happens often. 

But, while I stood there transfixed, I couldn't help but wonder why. Why did this capture my attention for so long? 

I found beauty in the contrast of light in the ivy leaves and the dark trunk, and the contrast of colors from the vibrant blue sky to the muted greens of the moss. Moss is meant to be dreary, and even the brilliant morning sunlight that makes everything else vibrant couldn't coax any color from those drab tree-drapes. 

Also, I love what it symbolized and literally is: Out of death, there is life. What can be thought of as waste to one, can be something to build upon for another. 

I am a compulsive cleaner and organizer. In my youth I would gaze into the woods, or any scene, and think about what I would remove, add, or clean up to enhance its beauty. (Yes, I was an odd child. I am acutely aware of it, thank you.)

But, now that I have learned more about the world, those dead trees that I would have torn down, I now see as something the woodpecker cherishes, or another plant needs for support.

Just because we might not see the value of something, doesn't mean it's not the entire world to someone or something else. 

What a shame it would be if we had the complete power to make the world as we see fit. 

We have done enough damage with the tools we have already. 

This isn't meant as an attack or insult on humans; just an observation. We share this dilemma with every other animal that becomes too smart or successful for their own good — we just operate on a different level than the others do.