The Giving Tree

Posted by Ron Ball

Nov 13, 06

Gary Craig’s EFT Blog had an article titled, When Was The Last Time You Gave Away A Precious Stone? If you’ll continue reading this article, we’ve included the blog post here. It brings to mind, the classic children’s book by Shel Silverstein, The Giving Tree, which is a well loved book and also a controversial one. Can you be too giving like the tree was? Or is it an example of unconditional love?

First, here’s Gary Craig’s post:

There is much magic in the parable below. Without specifically saying so, it emphasizes the true rewards for having attained Personal Peace.

There was once a wise woman traveling in the mountains who found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and she opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked if she might give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But only a few days later he came back to return the stone to the woman who had given it to him.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said, “I know how valuable the stone is, but I’m giving it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. I want you to give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.”

-Author Unknown

Now, back to The Giving Tree. Sheldon Alan “Shel” Silverstein was an American poet, songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter, and author of children’s books. In 1964, his book, The Giving Tree, was published. To date, it has been translated into over 30 languages. Some people read the story and are touched by the “unconditional love” of the tree for the boy. The controversy centers around whether the tree was “stupid” in giving too much and the boy was “selfish” in taking too much.

If you don’t have the book, you can find it at any bookstore or from www.amazon.com. If you’ll look under reviews at Amazon, you’ll find about 500 review/opinions of the book, most of which are favorable. Below, you can also see and hear a reading of the book by Shel Silverstein.

Plus, here’s the official Shel Silverstein Website. What’s your perception of The Giving Tree?

Shel Silverstein passed away in 1999. National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition did a story, Shel Silverstein Remembered. You can listen to it here.

Are you well-balanced about giving and receiving? Or do you tend to be more of one or the other? What beliefs might you want to change about giving or receiving? You can use EFT to uncover any limiting beliefs or feelings and install new, more empowering ones!