The day I discovered trees which shed their bark over time was a happy day for me. I’d walk along, see a tree in need of my attention and I would just flick off those loose pieces of bark. And so the walk went, tree to tree to tree popping off shaky bark. Occasionally, I would run into one that appeared to be transformationally complete! However, if I looked really, really close, I could discern yet another thin layer awaiting its right and perfect time to disengage.

One ‘popping bark’ day, I heard a bo-i-i-i-i-ng as an idea landed. It was an outrageous thought…good that only the dog was there to observe my insane giggle…but also a remarkable thought! What if, just what if, outworn beliefs could be flicked off with such ease. The bark hugged that tree until its time came, it loosened, it fell. So, why am I or anyone for that matter clinging so desperately to an outworn concept or two or three?

On one of my chaplaincy visits, I sat with a patient who really had an issue with using ‘old’ and ‘travel’ in the same sentence. She was horrified by her belief that she would ever be considered the stereotypical touring, white-haired woman staring out a bus window. I looked at her long and hard while she fleshed out her belief. Finally, I asked her why she cared what someone thought if she was doing what she loved to do, even though she was doing it with white hair and from a bus. –Eyes widened, smile filled her face. The bark popped off and landed.

If we allow, as does the sycamore, for beliefs to drop away when they have served whatever purpose they came to serve, we continue with a richer and deeper experience. As Neville Goddard indicated, too many people live lives of perpetual construction and deferred occupancy. Not so the tree. I don’t think it’s for me either.