Little Pine Tree's Awakening

“That is a great awareness for you to make this early in life,” commented Robust Pine Tree. “I don’t understand,” replied the confused young tree. “Most actions you take in your life won’t matter much to anybody else. The only tree your actions should matter to is to yourself. If sitting here under my branch is making you unhappy, then you should change your action to make yourself happy. You can’t depend on any other tree to deliver or create your happiness. This is your responsibility, not the responsibility of any other tree, ” said Robust Pine Tree. “Well my friends do make me happy,” demanded the young tree. “Are you sure it is your friends that make you happy? Or do you feel happy when you are doing things you enjoy with your friends?” questioned Robust Pine Tree. “I see,” said the young tree, “Let me get this straight. For me to be happy, I should not sit here feeling left out or like nobody cares for me. Instead, I should change my thought about how I am feeling and go do something else that makes me feel good?” asked the young tree. “You got it!” yelled Robust Pine Tree, waving his branch in excitement. "But that seems backward to me. How can I be happy when I feel sad because my friends have not found me?" questioned the young tree. “You must experience the feeling of happiness before your circumstances can bring more happiness into your experience. Your friends may not be able to find you. They might not even be looking for you. It is not what your friends are doing or not doing that is important to your happiness. It is whether you allow the circumstance to control your state of being. Do you allow yourself to feel happy or do you allow yourself to feel bad in any given situation? ” questioned Robust Pine Tree.