I stood before a tree, brilliant in its autumn array,
reflecting the sun's light with a spectrum of vivid
colors. I approached, desiring to capture a sample
of its beauty, and took a leaf.
Studying my prize closely, I realized that it was
actually rather dull, and lacked the stunning colors
of the tree, as though my leaf was a bulb removed
from a string of lights.
I held the leaf high against the crystal blue where the
sunlight caught it. It shimmered with a beauty of its
own, but it could not match the majesty of the tree.
I turned back and there it stood, still glowing like
a beacon.
I wondered how this unspectacular leaf, and all the
imperfect others like it, could produce such
magnificence simply through community.
I dreamed I was a leaf, surrounded by others like me,
yet each of us different than any other. Together we
adorned a tree. And when the face of the sun shone
upon us, our imperfections faded, and we gleamed and
dazzled with color and brilliance as though we were
the very sun itself.