Giving Tree: Big World, Little Us

Self portrait, with my children.
I plan a story for an image in my head, long before I find the right spot or click the shutter. Shel Silverstein is one of my favorite authors to read to my children, and I had been looking for a tree like this for a few months, with this concept percolating in the back of my mind. While we were driving down an otherwise ordinary old highway in the middle of nowhere, I realized the time was finally upon us. A beautiful day and this single tree stands in a small empty lot between a gas station and a warehouse. An easily overlooked location, my favorite kind of opportunity.
I perched my camera on the hood of the car, and as we ran to our spot to dance beneath the (giving) tree, I wanted to give my children a sense that our purpose here is to create more good, more joy, more kindness and sustainable abundance, than what we found when we arrived. And to create beauty in a spontaneous and otherwise mundane moment. Everything is beautiful, if you appreciate it.
This tree and the image we created reminded me of the quote "the true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit" (N. Henderson).