Consider the life of trees.
Aside from the axe, what trees acquire from man is inconsiderable.
What man may acquire from trees is immeasurable.
From their mute forms there flows a poise, in silence,
         a lovely sound and motion in response to wind.
What peace comes to those aware of the voice and bearing of trees!
Trees do not scream for attention.
A tree, a rock, has no pretense, only a real growth out of itself,
          in close communion with the universal spirit.
A tree retains a deep serenity
It establishes in the earth not only its root system but also those
          roots of its beauty and its unknown consciousness.
Sometimes one may sense a glisten of that consciousness, and with
          such perspective, feel that man is not necessarily
          the highest form of life.

[Photograph: Cedric Wright from Words of the Earth]