The world's oldest continually standing tree is the bristlecone pine, Living nearly five thousand years, And having grown to about 60 feet high.
The redwood tree, In contrast, Can reach over 350 feet in heights and can live more than two thousand years.
A closer study of these trees reveals other interesting things that can teach us some very valuable lessons.
The bristlecone lives where practically nothing else can.
The bristlecone pine is almost always found in elevations above 10,000 feet in the windy mountaintops in the western portion of the United States.
The growing season is a meager six weeks, With precipitation of less than a foot per year.
This desert condition, Where these trees thrive, Is one of the driest places on earth in the summer and is very cold in the winter.
The redwood trees, On the other hand, Live in a mild, Moist climate in the coastal northwest part of california.
The redwood trees receive an average of 70 inches of precipitation per year. The soil is rich.
There is infrequent frost where these redwood trees thrive, And it snow very little.
The oldest bristlecone pines live in the most exposed sites, With a considerable amount of space between each tree.
Not only is there space between each tree, But the bristlecone is also isolated because few other species can survive the rugged conditions.
The bristlecone roots sink wide and deep into the rocky soil.
The redwood trees, On the other hand, Grow close together with other redwood trees, And their roots are shallow and interwoven.
What a contrast between the bristlecone and redwood trees.
Despite their differences, They both live so long.
Perhaps you can see the parallels between these trees and your own life or the lives of your family members, Extended family members, Neighbors, Or colleagues at work.
I would imagine some of them come from come from ideal conditions, As does the redwood tree.
Other people however, May come from harsh conditions as the bristlecone pine encounters.
Regardless, You probably know people from both extremes who managed to live wonderful lives and our sources of inspiration for all of us.
How can people, Like these trees, Have such divergent backgrounds, Yet, Regardless of background, Become the people they want to be?
Let's look again at the bristlecone and redwood trees for more insights.
The longevity for both of these trees is partially attributed to their ability to fight fires from without and disease from within.
Fire and disease are the main reasons why other trees don't survive as long as the bristlecone and redwood.
Bacteria, Fungus, Or insects prey upon most plants.
However, The bristlecone tree has a dense and highly resinous wood that acts as a barrier to insects and bacteria.
The dry air in the region helps preserve the trees from rotting.
The redwood tree fights against disease differently.
The bark of the redwood tree may be over a foot thick and contains tannin, Which protects the tree from insects, Fungus, And disease.
There is no insect that can kill a redwood tree.
Both of these trees have the ability to fight attacks from within because of the makeup of the trees themselves.
As far as fighting fires, The longevity of the bristlecone needles and the enadequacy of other trees and plants to grow in such harsh conditions, Make the vegetation around the bristlecone pine spares, Limiting the capacity for fire or the spread of fire to other trees in the event of a lightning strike.
The redwood trees fight fires with thick spongy bark that contains materials with similar chemical make-up as those used today in fire extinguishers.
Whether it's these trees striving for longevity, Or us trying to become the people we want to be, Either requires dealing with our own fires from without and disease from within.
It requires that our very character be resistant against those things that tempt us to compromise our integrity.
The very word disease means “without ease.”
So living with integrity or living according to our chosen beliefs and values gives us peace; Otherwise we live without ease.
Fighting our personal fires from without requires having a barrier of protection thick enough to withstand tremendous heat, Like the redwood tree, Or we must put ourselves in an environment where fires can't spread or intensify, Like the bristlecone pine.
It is interesting to note that with some redwood trees, You will see the trees hollowed out.
They are sometimes referred to as chimney trees.
Cracks or spaces in the bark contribute to these redwood trees being hollowed out.
Although the bark itself is thick, Over time, Fires attack the redwood trees through these openings.
The more trees are hollowed out through many fires over the centuries, The weaker the tree becomes, And the redwood tree strains to hold its tremendous bulk and eventually crumbles under its own weight.
In this time management philosophy and strategy, I am not merely trying to get more done, I am trying to realize the people I want to be, While at the same time fighting against other demands (Fires from without and disease from within) that would take us off course.
As I have learned from the redwood chimney tree, I need to be vigilant against those little cracks and openings where fires from without can attack.
I need to be equally careful with the big and small activities over time that would detract us from being the type of people i can realized.
This will make time and more especially practice and persistent.
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