Pine Tree, Vines and Spiders

I was born in 1998 and the pine tree was born in 1993. Although it was older than me by five years, I have certain attachment towards that tree. My parents who are no gardener, don’t pay any special attention to that tree. For them, they only grew the tree for the sake of decorations. Since, I was living in Jayapura, we rarely have any special fertilizer for plants. We usually grow our plants naturally without any special care. Until one day, I was in sixth grade and I saw some plants hanging around the trunk of the tree. I had no idea what it was until the next week where I started to learn about parasites in science class. It was the climbing vines that were hanging around the tree.

            I knew the climbing vines as parasites and tried as hard as I could to remove the plants from the trunk. However, when I started to move to Jakarta in my third year of secondary school, I stopped taking care of the vines. The climbing vines started to spread across the pine tree and when I came back, the pine tree was filled with vines. It worries me and I thought the tree would no longer survive. And suddenly I saw some spiders created its nest within the leaves of the tree. Suddenly the tree was no longer by itself, but there are vines and spiders who are clinging onto it. I was so worried and told my parents about it. Together with some of my parents’ worker, we tried to get rid of the vines, but not the spiders. Since the spiders do no harm for the tree.

            After looking at the tree, it made me think. How can it let the vines took advantage of it? Why would the tree let the parasites killed it? Why would the tree let the spiders to dwell between the leaves? What are the benefits that the vines and spiders give to the tree?

            Then, I was reminded by the society.

            As a human, it is normal to expect gratitude and rewards after we help someone. But some people are just like the spiders, they only receive our help but show no gratitude. But some are worse. They are like the parasites or the vines, where they took advantage of us but also tries to harm us. And to us who expect rewards and gratitude will be disappointed by the act of people like the spiders. But we will have harder time to forgive people like the parasite or the vines. We may hate that person or even try to seek revenge. While the beginning of every conflicts come from hatred and revenge.

            Observing the pine tree, I realized what human always lack but it presents in the nature. It’s that the tree knows that it has responsibilities in helping the vines or the spiders. It does not expect to receive something in return, but it is the obligation of the pine tree. And no matter the vines that will take over its life, or the spiders that give no benefits at all to the tree, it does not try to avenge or doing anything. Because the tree knows that as a human being, we also have the responsibility to help the tree by getting rid of the vines.

But human being always doing business with cost and benefit before they try to help. While responsibility in helping others requires no business or cost analysis. What it requires is only love. Because when society has realized its love towards each other and the nature, the responsibility in helping each other will automatically emanate. However, the act of pollution, global warming or even terrorism are great evidence of how the society lacking of responsibility in helping. Instead of only a certain organization or only small group of people, each individual on this earth must realized that they have that responsibility and they need to obliged to it. Just like the tree obliged its responsibility towards the vines and the spiders with love.