timorous pines

While in Antibes, I visited Thurlet gardens. They are beautiful, serene and raw. In one small corner there is a group of pine trees. The sign attached to them describes them as "timid pines". This name comes from the fact that as they grow, each tree avoids touching the branches of the others - so when you look up into the canopy you see daylight rather than a tangle of limbs. There are many reasons offered by way of explaining this phenomenon, some botanical some fanciful. Whatever the cause, the effect is one of beauty. Many times we exist in small units but somehow feel that if we were to get too close to "the other" we might, somehow, catch something, be associated with what they do or believe or are perceived to be guilty by association. We stay apart as we grow together. What a loss! We are created for community, for relationships. So don't emulate the pines and don't be afraid to embrace the other as there are untold benefits for all of us from such small steps.