The Situation:

See that massive tree trunk blurring into a thicket of a thousand branches? Each of the hundreds of swaying leaves cling tightly to its claim, giving the illusion of a tossing green sea.

Man 1:

He stands there admiring the complex foliage. He looks closely at each branch and its leaves. But there’s something. There it is. He can see it plainly now. That leaf isn’t green. It’s brown. Dead or sick—he can’t tell. And there’s another! His eyes search frantically—leaping from branch to branch. There, there, there, there…the imperfections are maddening. The impression of total green is gone. Not one branch bears a complete collection of healthy sprouts.

It’s all wrong. What was just a moment ago a beautiful organism is now twisted in disease. What should be done? An idea drifts to mind: someone should make it green again.

Recognizing, however, the impossible vastness of the project to be completed on his own, he resorts to standing there, arms folded, squinting and grimacing at the tree, pointing out to all who walk by which leaves are wrong, muttering about what color they ought to be and how someone should apply the appropriate color to each leaf. With all who will listen he commiserates and argues, discusses and debates, gestures and points…

Man 2:

He notices as many mangled and discolored leaves as the first man, but not all the same leaves bother him which did the former. Clearly this monstrous plant is in distress!

What must be done? An idea emerges: he should make it green again.

So he gathers buckets containing various shades of green paint. The process is tedious. He stands on his toes to paint the lower leaves, climbs out on branches to reach those higher up inside the canopy.

As the leaves turn from brown to green, his heart leaps with happiness! He’s doing it! He’s fixing the tree! But what’s this? He frowns at a branch formerly completed. Why is there another shriveled brown leaf? Confused but dismissive, he is compelled to thrust a hand back into the bucket to slather on more green. There. See—he can do it! What a ridiculous tree. Now what’s this? Another! Fury clouds his vision. His impulse continues, driving him to paint and paint and…

Man 3:

He observes all that the tree contains, but also carefully watches the reactions of the first two men. He sees leaves that are discolored, but he is a wise man. Who’s to say that the leaves are “discolored”? He tells himself, “What is to one man is not to another and vice versa.” Therefore, when the first two men ask what is to be done, he replies, “Nothing. It’s all perception—there’s not necessarily anything wrong with the tree, and there’s no way to know if it should be changed. Absolutist approaches are offensive and it is clear that nothing is really changing the situation.” He sits in the shade, reminding himself that no two leaves are alike, that those ugly leaves aren’t really ugly, that the shriveled leaves are an expression of unique texture, that…

Man 4:

He’s reading a book. It’s the oldest book in the world—a book about trees with numerous authors contributing to the subject.

He tells the first man that he’s right—the tree is dying—and he points to pictures in the book which show similar trees dying. But the first man becomes enraged and insists that the color of the leaves needs to change.

He suggests to the second man that he consider a more systemic approach—the roots, water, soil, nutrients, access to light and air as the book suggests—but the second man waves him off, concluding that he’s almost done fixing the tree.

He approaches the third man and tries to convince him that he, too, is grasping to a perception evidenced by the claim that he can’t know if the tree is o.k. or not. He tries reading to him what the book bears out with regard to dying trees. The third man watches him until he’s through and says, “That’s a fantastic idea, but we live in a world of fantastic ideas. How can you possibly claim to have a better idea about trees than the rest of us?”

The man answers, “The book seems to be correct, it claims to have the answer, and it has proven to work in a variety of cases.”

“You think what you want and we’ll think what we want,” the wise man sneers.

Dismayed but resolute, the man walks to the tree, reaches into his backpack and finds a small water bottle. He pours the contents over one of the roots. He loosens some dirt, and reaches again into his pack and pulls out an old banana peel. This he buries next to the old tree.

The three men watch…