Trees are so much in topic now especially in the context of global warming.Relevance of local flora and fauna is being understood more to have anecologically balanced environment. All my life for the past six decades I haveseen trees , either a stand alone like a peepal or in groves like mango, date ,coconut and so on. I have always understood that trees stand apart since theyneed resources like earth, water and sunlight. In fact I have philosophically learntfrom trees that in our lives too we need to give and have space between eachother to have a healthy relationship. All that perspective changed during myrecent visit to San Francisco. There I was introduced to the giant sequoia alsoknown as redwood trees. So tall and majestic , standing for thousands of years.But when I got to know more about them they simply amazed me. These trees donot have deep roots but they spread out for their balance and stability. But theamazing fact is these trees stand close to each other , supporting and holding onto each other, sharing resources as they stand as a family. I saw in some treesthe trunk is burnt and carved out in the forest fire yet standing defiantly tall. Theircanopies towering hundreds of feet above supporting their own ecosystem andlife. These trees have added another dimension to my life lesson. Spacing out orin close proximity we can still share , respect and be self-reliant and beat theodds together.