Lessons from Nature

Nature is the biggest benefactor for humani ty and the gr eatest teacher of all. The colour, beauty, light, sound and movements that you see in the nature is amazing! Can a person ever create such wonders? God only can! The lessons one can learn from nature is unli mited, restricted onl y by the power of your obser vation , imagi nation and enthusiasm or lack of it. There is not a single thing in this world that has been created without a purpose, whether it is you or a stone, we onl y have to enquire and find the purpose to live it! Ever y scientific invention or discover y that we see today is only an extension of what we see in nature. Whether it is modern construction technology, medici nes, engineering designs or aircraft building, you can tr ace it back to something that you can see in our nature. Nature also gi ves us great lessons on behaviour and character building, whether you watch ants for their teamwor k and industr y or the dogs for their love and loyalt y. Ever y creation in nature gi ves y ou i mmense lessons.

Lessons from Trees

1. Be flexible the tree that bends a little to the harmless breeze will later grow to withstand the wild wi nd. Si milarl y if you maintain a degree of flexibility in our attitudes and viewpoints, such persons will not b e broken in any for m of criticism or opposition. 2. Leaves though they are small, are vital to the life of a tree. Si milarly in our lives, there are many whom we consider insignificant are indeed important to our sustenance and growt h and should be taken go od care of. Even a simple word of appreciation or thank you will go a long way in encouraging them and supporting you in your endeavours. 3. Do not be inti midated (disappointed) by small beginning in your life. A mi ght y oak or banyan tree was a small seedlin g one day. Efforts when enriched with strong moti vation and deter mination will grow and only sky would be the limits. 4. Do not be afraid of change. Invi gorate your life by letting go off t he past and fast forwarding to something new. For the spr out to come out the shell has to be broken. Old leaves have to be shed for new ones to take its place. 5. Practice team wor k i n forests indi vidual tr ees support each other . By interlocking roots and branches tr ees in the forest sur vive powerful cyclones but a giant tre e standing alone could easily be uprooted. Collaboration and team work is essential for success and growt h. 6. It is i mportant to have deep roots to sur vi ve and grow deeper the roots, taller the tree and only such trees can withstand heavy winds or adverse external environmental conditi ons. Si milarl y it is critical for us to develop deep roots wherever we are, whether in the place of our birth, place wher e we li ve or the company we wor k. Frequent change of j ob or living place does not help us develop deeper roots. 7. Grow where you are planted ever y pl ant needs certain environmental and

physical conditions to survi ve and grow, a t ropical plant cannot grow in the arctic region or vice versa. If you think that peopl e living in western countries are lucky and opportunities are unfavourabl y stacked in favour of them, thi nk twice before you plan to immi grate to that nation. You may feel discriminated; even worse, you may not get the same opportunities as locals and may not even enj oy the climate and life style. 8. Avoid people who would cut you down. 9. Shed your leaves duri ng harsh winter during heavy snow falls, t rees can collapse on their own wei ght if it does not shed the leaves. Si milarl y lack of sun makes the leaves without much function during the winter. Many com panies resort to large scale retrenchment dur ing recession or such severe external economic conditions to survi ve the difficult times. 10. Trees with fruits bend their heads trees standing tall are those without fruits. Humilit y is an essential personality trait for those who are knowledgeable, successful and in hi gh positions. 11. Be prepared for brickbats and criticism people throw stones at fruit bearing trees only. The higher your position in society or in your organi zation, the harsher the criticism that you will hear. 12. A fast growing tree is weak and has a short life and a slow growing tree is stronger and has a long life. Manage your growth and be stronger and stay l ong. 13. Trees that do not provide fruits are grown to be used as firewood and will be cut down when they reach certain age and size. If you do not produce expected results for your company, you will be cut down in due course of ti me. 14. Work hard trees and leaves wor k ver y hard. Leaves are the pri mar y wor k force for the tree. During dayti me, it takes sun light and prepares nutrition for the entire tree. At night it converts carbon dioxide into oxygen and ser ves the society. Our wor k culture and life should reflect that of a leaf, always engaged and wor king for the benefit of others. 15. Gi ve shelter a tree provides shelter for birds, butterflies, snakes and many such living or ganisms. It pr ovides shade and shelt er for tired pedestrians from the harsh sun or rain. Our lives should reflect that of a tree; help those in need and difficulty irrespective of caste, creed, religion or region. 16. Tree and an organi zat ion tree reflects an organi zational structure with branches and sub branches. a. The roots anchor the plant. It is the head or corporate office. It absorbs the minerals and water from the soil, es sential for the sur vi val of the plant and also acts as a site for storage. b. The stems provide the support for the plant. It produces new tissues and provides transportation between leaves and roots. It can also act as a storage place. The regional or branc h offices that recruits and trains persons essential to run the or gani zation. c. Leaves are li ke wor kers in an or gani zation, either organi zed singl y or in pairs depending upon the requirements of nature. Leaves main function is photosynthesis, a process wher ein carbon dioxide and water is

combined with the help of sun light to produce the essential food for the plant and to the entire humanit y. The wast e product is oxygen which is so vital for our survi val. Leaves structure is designed to adapt to the nature. 17. This story gi ves some interesting lessons about our life - There was a n old man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn some valuable lessons and who are always too quick to j udge things or gi ve up too easil y on the fi rst obstacle that confront them. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was at a great distance away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen. The first son said that the tre e was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beau tiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of lif e and fulfil ment. The man then expl ained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life. He told them that you cannot j udge a tree, or a pers on, by onl y one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, j oy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up. If you gi ve up when it 's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the bea uty of your summer, fulfilment of your fall. Moral lessons: Don't let the pain of one s eason destroy the j oy of all the rest. Don't j udge life by one difficult seas on .

Facts about Trees General

1. Trees keep our air supply fresh by absorbing carbon dioxide and pr oducing oxygen. 2. In one year, an acre of trees can absorb as much carbon as is pr oduced by a car driven up to 8700 miles. 3. Trees provide shade and shelter, reducing yearly heating and cool ing costs by 2.1 billion dollars. 4. Trees lower air temper ature by evaporating water in their leaves. 5. The average tree in metropolitan area survi ves onl y about 8 years! 6. A tree does not reach its most producti ve stage of carbon stor age for about 10 years. 7. Trees cut down noise pollution by acting as sound bar riers. 8. Tree roots stabilize the soil and prevent erosion. 9. Trees improve water quality by slowing and filtering rain water as well as protecting aquifers and watersheds. 10. Trees provide protection from downward f all of rain, sleet, and hail as well as reduce stor m run -off and the possibilit y of fl ooding, 11. Trees provide food and shelter for wildlife.

12. Trees located along st reets act as a glare and reflection control. 13. The death of one 70 -year old tree would r eturn over three tons of carbon to the atmosphere. Tree Biology 1. 2. 3. 4. Trees are the longest l iving or ganisms on ear th. Trees and other plants make their food through a process called photosynthesis. The inside of a tree is made of cor k, phloem, cambium, and xylem. The xylem of a tree carries water from the roots to t he leaves. Trees and the Environment 1. Trees renew our air supply by absorbing car bon dioxide and producing oxygen. 2. The amount of oxygen produced by an acr e of trees per year equals the amount consumed by 18 people annuall y. One tree produces nearl y 260 poun ds of oxygen each year. 3. One acre of trees removes up to 2.6 tons of carbon dioxide each year. 4. Shade trees can make buildings up to 20 degrees cooler in the summer. 5. Trees lower air temper ature by evaporating water in their leaves. 6. Tree roots stabilize soil and prevent erosion. 7. Trees improve water quality by slowing and filtering rain water, as well as protecting aquifers and watersheds. 8. The cottonwood tree seed is the seed that stays in fli ght the longest. The tiny seed is surrounded by ultra -li ght, white fluff hair s that can carr y it on the air for several days. Record-setting Trees 1. One of the tallest soft wood trees is the General Sherman, a giant redwood sequoia of California. General Sher man is about 275 ft or 84 m hi gh with a girth of 25 ft or 8 m. 2. The 236 ft or 72 m high Ada Tree of Australia has a 50 ft or 15.4 m girth and a root system that takes up more than an acre. 3. The worlds tallest tree is a coast redwood in California, measuring more than 360 ft or 110 m. 4. The worlds oldest trees are 4,600 yea r old Bristlecone pines in the USA. 5. Trees and Science 6. Dendrochronology is t he science of calculati ng a trees age by its r ings. 7. Tree rings provide precise infor mation about environmental events, including volcanic eruptions. 8. A mature birch tree can produce up to 1 mill ion seeds per year . More Tree Facts

1. A single edition of a daily newspaper uses the wood from approxi mately 5,000 trees to make the paper. One ton of recycled paper saves approxi mately 15 trees and their habitat. 2. The average tree will drink app roxi matel y 2,000 litres of water each year. 3. Trees receive an estimated 90% of their nutrition from the atmosphere and only 10% from the soil. 4. Trees grow from the top, not from the bottom as is commonl y believed. A branchs location on a tree will only move up the trunk a few inches in 1000 years. 5. No tree dies of old age. They are generall y killed by insects, disease or by people. California Bristlecone Pines and Giant Sequoias are regarded as the oldest trees and have been known t o live 4,000 to 5,000 years . 6. There are about 20,000 tree species in the world. India has the largest tree treasuries in the world and second is USA. 7. The largest area of forest in the tropics remains the Amazon Basin, amounting to 81.5 million acres. 8. Some trees can talk to each oth er. When willows are attacked by webwor ms and caterpillars, they emi t a chemical that alerts nearby willow of the danger. The neighboring trees then respond by pumping more tannin into their leaves making it difficult for the insects to di gest the leaves. 9. Knocking on wood f or good luck originat ed from pri mitive tree worship when rapping on trees was believed to summon protective spirits in the tr ees. 10. Trees can induce rainfall by cooling the land and transpiring water into the sky from their leaves. An acre of maple trees can put as much as 20,000 gallons of water into the air each day. 11. Trees prevent erosion by trapping soil that would otherwise become silt. Silt destroys fish eggs and other aquatic wildlife and makes ri vers and streams shallower, causing mo re frequent and mor e severe flooding. Trees along streams also hold stream banks in place to protect against flooding. 12. Planting 30 trees each year offsets greenhouse gases from your car and home. 13. Trees provide substances with medicinal val ues such as the a ctive ingredients used in asthma medications and cough remedies. Aspirin is derived from the bar k of a willow tree.