It's in my nature
The Oak and The Reeds
The Oak and the Reeds1 is one of Aesop’s many tales. The Oak and The Reeds is a warning of what can happen to an unyielding individual. The link to the fable can be found here. But below is my retelling of the version I heard.
A mighty oak stands tall on the bank of a large river surrounded by reeds. The wind started to blow and the oak stood tall while the reeds bent, bowed and swayed with the incoming wind. The winds picked up and soon a hurricane storm was upon the oak and reeds. The oak was knocked over by the strong winds and fell into the river; root and all. The reeds remained and looked on as the tree, defeated, was carried away, downstream by the river.
As a child Aesop’s tales were an easy way to take in lessons yet unclear to a young Chez. Reading now as an adult, I feel myself reflecting particularly on a story like this because; what else could these characters do? It’s just in their nature.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” ― Albert Einstein
For the purpose of this fable and it’s message of resisting rather than destruction, we can use our imagination. But for fun, let’s put on the big kid’s pants and revisit this childhood tale.
Putting these two against each other almost seems silly; apples and oranges? Oak’s and reeds? The Oak; symbolizing wisdom, strength and endurance. While Reeds; symbolize fertility, protection, love and family concerns.
The Oak is prized for the wood’s strength and resilience - the historical imagery of this goes back to many European cultures. Oaks are associated with Zeus and Thor; top dogs in Greek and Norse mythology.
Reeds are used in music; saxophones, flutes and clarinets. The Greek God Pan is shown to be playing a flute and to the ancient Egyptians, their afterlife was called Aaru - the Field of Reeds2.
The oak does what it does best; grow large, provide shade and stands firm against all adversity. Would it be an oak if it did none of those things? It’s in it’s nature to defy storms and that is why we enjoy and admire the oak tree. To put this in a more human perspective, I do not fully understand a typical type A personality - ambitious, competitive and a good leader3. But, I admire people with that drive as an external force to help propel a project or lead a workshop; they’re good at it.
Likewise, the reeds do what they do best; grow in bunches to help prevent erosion at the bank of a river, provides housing for fish, birds, insects etc4. The reeds, though not as mighty and grand as the oak have their own strengths that without them would disrupt a part the ecosystem. If the reeds were not on the bank, there might be a higher occurrence of landslides while the fish and birds would have to adapt or move away to find a new home. As a more human perspective, the enneagram type 9 personality5 is the peacemaker. Looking for harmony and having patience to deal with differing and strong personalities.
The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg - Zulu Proverb
The storm in this fable does not discriminate; it’s coming and how it’s handled depends on the individual. The oak and reed followed what comes naturally to them and the oak fell down and was carried away by the river. The reeds looked on and survived yes, but they are still on the same bank, doing what they’ve done with no change. The oak was struck down yes, but is carried away to a new place. Where, we do not know. But when it gets to that destination; what will the oak do? Have you seen sump or trunk sprouting - hidden buds growing from the broken stump or fallen trunk of a tree? Or the trunk being a fertile and protective shelter for other seedlings, insects and animals to use? The oak can ‘grow’ from it’s fall because now, it’s on a new adventure6.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. - 1 Corinthians 13:11
An Aesop fable is a good story for children to help them learn morals and ideas at that level. The fable is meant to carry a lesson. This one being; yielding when it’s folly to resist than to resist stubbornly and be destroyed. A simple lesson but as life goes on, there’s many factors and nuances to take into consideration. Questions like:
If you go against your nature, how will that impact the individual?
Where is the grounding to decide if something is folly or foolish to resist?
Different species of plants (cultures) have different values. Would something that makes sense to a reed come off as be extremely rude to an Oak tree?
Some questions for another time and possibly another article. Looking back at this fable, I feel that I understand the lesson better and apply it to real life. Yet at the same time, but cannot blame either Oak or Reed for what they did; it was in their nature. The mighty oak and musical reed didn’t go against their nature when they were tested by the storm - and that’s why we admire them. That’s where stories and growth is cultivated. And if either had gone against their nature when faced with a storm; we wouldn’t have an Aesop fable.
https://read.gov/aesop/011.html
https://www.worldhistory.org/Field_of_Reeds/
https://www.hiresuccess.com/help/understanding-the-4-personality-types#type-a-personality
https://www.axfoundation.se/en/projects/harvested-reed-cleans-the-sea-and-benefits-the-land
https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-9/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauladavislaack/2020/03/26/adversity-makes-you-stronger/
Thank you for this thoughtful piece, Chez. You are one of the greats. May God shower his richest blessings upon you.