Branches of the Same Tree

The inspiration for this experimental fusion of poetry and essay was this YouTube video that I found deeply touching. Tears welled up as I watched it, because it depicted something beautiful. A model of how I aspire to comport myself and what the world could be. Ostensibly, the people in the video couldn’t be more different from each other. One is black and one is white. One is a man and one is a woman. One is young and the other appears to be significantly older. Yet they were able to interact in harmony and navigate a disagreement tactfully. Why? We are all the same on a fundamental level.

The man was not concerned with being “right” instead he showed the woman warmth and compassion and she deeply appreciated it. This moment resonated with me so deeply because sometimes I have the tendency to be overly concerned with objective facts and wanting to come to the correct solution, which my scientific training has amplified. Research training has improved my thinking in many ways, but it isn’t all that is needed.

This video taught me the importance of context. To know when to apply that scientific training and when another approach is warranted. Sometimes what is necessary is a little caring and understanding. I aspire to be more like the man in that video.

In the spirit of reconciling emotional truths with rationality, what follows is my attempt at capturing the thoughts and feelings engendered by this video. One of the steps on my path of integration.

When I look at the way many people think of race, I am sometimes upset that we often don’t show others grace. We are so focused on our differences, that we often are blind to a deeper reality. We are all humans and need to relish in the things that tie us together like a knot. I wish this for everyone. Whether you're black, brown, white or not.

We are all on this journey together. In unity, we can traverse the rocky political landscape. I mention a journey but that doesn’t imply a race, on a fundamental level we share a common goal. To be respected and valued as an individual and a collective. For everyone to be treated fairly. It’s ironic that we need to learn this again as adults because this is something we inherently know as children. As kids we are bright, we know we are one people, giving us comfort like a night light. But somewhere along the way, we lose this deeper insight. We lose our way and find ourselves feeling cold without the warmth that the light provides.

However, the potential remains. Like a match that needs friction to ignite, we can feel the warmth and connection when we give up the fictional idea that we aren’t all equal. That we can’t live in harmony.

Relearning that we are equal doesn’t mean acting as if we are all the same. If we don’t embrace our diversity that is truly a shame. We shouldn’t force one another to fit the mold of what we think they should be. Instead, we should hold space for each person to develop like a tree. The branches that compose a tree all come from the same foundation but that isn’t to say they are exactly the same. That's part of what makes them beautiful.

Although individuality is important, it’s not the only thing that we need to sustain ourselves. It is the sense of community we find, not only our name that illuminates us through our darkest moments, even when we feel completely lost. We humans are like trees. The shared characteristics and experiences that connect us often can’t be seen at first glance. Instead, they take some digging to unearth. Similar to how the roots that support the tree are often unable to be seen on the surface.

As the great Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of his dreams, we all deserve fairness and we must be united. After all, we all grew from the same tree. It is ultimately our shared humanity that will keep us rooted through the storms. It is my hope that this writing makes the message lucid. All our individual efforts can contribute to a society where we all feel understood— not just because we think it is something we should, but because internally we know this is how it is meant to be. Thus, creating a world in which diverse voices are celebrated and not simply tolerated. Ultimately, embracing a pluralistic society.

Michael C. Onu