The trees for the forest

The view out my current kitchen window is: A lot of trees. Thousands upon thousands. Upon thousands. Douglas Fir. Lodgepole Pine. Blue Spruce. A few aspens. And a lot of others I can't readily identify.

They are beautiful. And they make me claustrophobic. I am a Wyoming girl. I am a girl of wide open spaces, rocky peaks and ever-blue sky. Here the rain falls for days. Here gray bleeds into green. Here the mountains are revealed only when the gods of mist and cloud choose to reveal them.

It is different from what I've always known.

But different is not bad. I am learning to appreciate this new, somewhat melancholy beauty.

Last night I was looking out my window at the forest below when I noticed ONE scrawny aspen standing tall among its green brethren. It looked like reverse lightning, like lightning that shoots from ground to sky. My eyes were riveted by its stunning white bark.

I laughed and exclaimed out loud -- you do that when you live alone in the woods of Montana -- that I could see the trees for the forest! I was so proud of myself until I realized today that the saying is actually, "Can't see the forest for the trees." Doh.

The saying actually means you should NOT get focused on one or two "trees" (i.e. issues) in life and miss the big picture -- the forest. It's a good point.

But I beg to differ for just a moment. When I look out my proverbial window, I often see only the forest. And that is when I get claustrophobic. I see this giant spectrum called life and freak out a bit -- especially when I know I must descend into it and find my way blindly through, only hoping to "bump into" certain trees (career, place to live, marriage, children) along the way. 

Last night, however, when my eyes were fixed on that one aspen, I began to appreciate the forest that surrounded it. I began to see the dew on the pine needles, the bend of the boughs, the different shades of green, both in the varying trees and in each tree by itself. Seeing the trees for the forest made the forest a lot less daunting.

Now, I know there is a way to blend these two ideas. It is not good to only see the forest for the trees or to see only the trees for the forest. At times we must focus on one issue, but we must also know when to walk away from that one "tree" and notice how it fits into the forest and how small it is when put in perspective.

Perhaps the saying should be: Look at the forest, grab an umbrella, take a walk, and don't forget to stop and smell the roses on the way to the hill where you can look at the forest again.

Please don't quote me on that.