Of Birches and Rocks.

Tom Brown and his friend Rick, as children, loved to swing from birches. Their trunks and branches were long and strong and would bend under their weight.

One time Rick misjudged and was left hanging ten feet from the ground. “Jump, Rick!” I called and laughed. 

“No, too far!” He screamed. 

Stalking Wolf looked amused, but motioned me to climb the tree and help with my weight. I climbed farther on the trunk than I should have, and it broke. We both landed with a thud. I sprained my wrist. Rick hurt his pride. We both laughed. 

“You must always judge how far to go. Now you have ruined the birch” (p.83, Brown Jr., Tom. The Search. New York: Prentice Hall, 1980.).

You must always judge how far to go. Through experience and learning a man is someone who has learned how far to go before he damages others or his environment. This story is an excellent example. As youth, we often know no bounds. We play adventurously sometimes at the cost of others and our surroundings.

When I was probably around 12, I once went hiking with some friends. We rested at one point on the top of a small cliff. The cliff was made of cracked and loose stones. The cracks shaped the stones into sorts of spires. We discovered, to our delight, that if we pushed together with all out strength, we could knock these spires over and send the rocks crashing to the ground in great roars and bangs. We lost track of time as we fought to knock over spire after spire. It was great fun and great exercise. Finally, we continued on our hike leaving the cliff not so majestic, and the base strewn with broken rocks and battered vegetation.

I feel that we must forgive the innocence of youth. I’m not trying to excuse myself by saying that, but just as Tom recounts in his story: youth tend to not judge how far to go. I look back now and feel remorse for having destroyed in meaningless fun a beautiful creation of nature. But this is one of the growing and learning experiences that have taught me to step back and destroy less. There are limits.

A true man learns that just because he can destroy something, doesn’t mean he should. Nor does it mean he has the right to. He is someone who knows that one shouldn’t all the time run as fast, push as hard, fight as often, and eat as much as one can. He is learning just how far he should go. And that distinguishes him from a youth.