Sam and The Giant Tree

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”

Albert Einstein (Most influential Physicist of the 20th century)

Once, there was a girl named Sam...

Who had been eagerly expected by her parents, but when she came to this world, her family realized she was a special child.

Sam was not only beautiful, she was incredibly enigmatic. She had unusually penetrating eyes. When she looked at you, you felt like you were being x-rayed. The truth was your insides were being looked at, but in a different way. Sam had the ability to look into people’s souls, beyond any facades they were using to hide who they were. Sam knew their intentions, their hopes and dreams and most importantly, if they could be trusted.

Sometimes, this ability she had to look into people’s souls would get her in a lot of trouble. She would openly tell her parents when she did not trust one of their friends, or if the neighbor was not being truthful to his wife. She could tell when somebody was going to die almost to the day, which tormented her. The few times she opened her mouth to tell this to someone it was not well received.

More and more, Sam realized people were not ready to hear what she had to say and unfortunately, as the years went by, she started living outside her body, ignoring what she saw, agreeing with people’s views out of respect. Sam did not realize she was forgetting who she was.

By the time she was 15 years old, the little opinionated gir“l she used to be was gone. No matter what people said, she smiled and complied, no matter how she felt about the circumstances.

The sad truth was that because Sam was not running her own energy and her own truth to live her life, she felt terrible about herself. She was very confused. She always had to ask people how she should feel about situations in her life.

Luckily, Sam always looked for ways to feel better. She loved to ride her bike for hours. It allowed her to clear her mind and have time to herself. One day, she decided she wanted to ride a trail into the forest close to her house.

Sam always felt happy in nature. She loved the sounds of the trees and the birds’ chirping, the water running down a creek, and the solitude of it all. So without noticing she went deeper and deeper into the beautiful pine forest.

After a while, she found a unique tree, growing strong, among many pine trees. The tree was so beautiful she stopped for a moment to admire it. This was a very large and old tree, and it was split in two, forming a saddle in the middle. Sam thought that would be a good place to sit and think.

All of a sudden, Sam started hearing a voice in her head so deep and so clear that she thought there was somebody hiding in the forest talking to her. Sam could not make out whether this voice she was hearing belonged to a man or a woman. It sounded more celestial than human.

“Who is there?” she asked. The voice replied, “it’s me, the tree you are sitting on!”

“WHAT? How can I possibly hear a tree talking?”

“You are very exceptional, only people who are clairaudient like you can hear me. How are you doing, precious girl? “

“I guess I am OK, besides the fact that I am hearing voices in my head.”

“Don’t be afraid,” said the tree.” That is a special gift you have.”

“OK, I’m not afraid. I’m Sam, Sam Baughman by the way. ”

“Nice name, it suits you. My name is Taru.”

“A strange name, …oops sorry I did not mean to say that.”

“No worries, I know it is a strange name, but I like it. An old friend of mine gave it to me, she said it meant, ‘tree’ in some ancient language.”

“Oohhhh, that makes sense,” replied Sam, “you’re very a beautiful tree. How come you are so different from the rest of the trees in this forest?”

“I guess I’m unique, just like you Sam. I have a special mission for this life: only people who are looking for answers and clarity of mind can find me,” said Taru. “Why do you think you came this way?”

“Oh, I dunno know. I just felt like riding far and I ended up here. I didn’t know I was gonna find a talking tree, though.”

“You’re funny, so strong inside and yet so confused.”

“How do you know that?” Sam said.

“Well, I can see it around you, in your aura,” observed the tree.

“My aura? What’s that?” asked Sam, puzzled.

“Our bodies are surrounded by a field of energy which reflects how we feel. That is called the aura. Some people can actually see it, like I can.”

“Hmm… Is that how you know how I feel?”

“Yes, the way our aura looks changes when we are stressed or confused and it’s evident to me that you don’t feel too well.”

“I guess I don’t.”

“What worries you so much, Sam?”

“I’m always worried about the future, you know. Like, everybody has an opinion about where I should go to college.”

“Where do you want to go to college?”

“Do I have to go to college?”

“I don’t believe so…”

“Thanks, that’s what I thought. I‘m not saying I don’t wanna go to college, I‘m just sooo confused…”

“I guess I would be too, if I felt so much pressure from everybody.”

“And then, there’s my friends, so cool and all, they tell me how to dress, who I should like. Sometimes I feel like they don’t have a clue, but if I tell them, they won’t hang out with me,” cried Sam.

“Yes, having friends is important, but being honest is too.”

“I know that, but sometimes I can be too honest. I just don’t wanna get in trouble. But it’s so hard to please everybody. I always feel like I’m running behind, I guess.”

“Do you think that you’re being yourself when you talk to other people?”

“Being myself? I don’t know what that’s like. I just do what I’m told.”

“Well,” the tree said. “I can teach how to be yourself again if you want to.”

“Really?” she said. “How? But…, wait. That’s gonna get me in trouble.”

“Aren’t you already in trouble, Sam?” said Taru.

Sam thought for a moment. She realized that Taru was right. She was already in trouble; she was in trouble with herself. She was not honoring her inner desires and what she wanted for her life. She had stopped listening to her own voice, but she wasn’t sure how to let go of other people’s expectations and demands. She was too deep into trouble to be able to get out by herself.