Member-only story
A person’s conduct depends entirely on the question of whether they are trying to survive, or whether they are trying to create. Organisms tend towards simplicity, not complexity — a piece of moss is a very effective organism: it survives, it grows, it spreads; but it does not have many tasks. Most people are moss. They find a spot to grow and they grow there.
It is much more difficult to be a tree, to put down deep roots, branches, leaves, flowers; to shoot up to the top of the canopy. Few people try to be trees. If you’re a tree, you have to sustain all sorts of other life — moss, ferns, mushrooms, birds.
If your heart is alive than anything is possible. But the heart — the trope for feeling — is complex, not simple; it is not necessary for mere survival. A heart requires deep roots, a sturdy trunk, strong branches. A single living heart is the basis of an ecosystem of feeling and experience.
