A Delightful Film - The Man Who Planted Trees

This is an inspiring story about a man who regularly performed a simple act. He planted trees. The man transforms the region around him through simply planting trees.

I remember hearing this short story read on NPR. It was a summer afternoon and I was driving a tractor on my parent's farm. What a great way to spend an afternoon. Around and around I drove that tractor, working the ground and preparing it for planting while listening to this wonderful story.

Years later I saw this animated version on PBS and fell in love again. This eco-fable inspires me to think about our environment and its relationship to our health and happiness. In what ways can we plant trees and what might they grow to become.

The Man Who Planted Trees
Written by Jean Giono (30 minutes long)


Part 1





Part 2





Part 3





Part 4






This story demonstrates how small actions diligently repeated over time can result in big changes. This is an important principle relating to natural medicine and our health in general.

In natural medicine the body as an environment is an important and useful concept. It helps reveal the ways living systems contain dynamic interactions. It draws to mind the thought - to what degree does one's internal environment support life.

Small consistent actions can result over time in changing the environment of the body - creating an environment to support more life. Take a good quality multivitamin a couple times daily, exercise on a regular basis, change you diet to include more wholesome and natural foods - in what ways might you facilitate an increase in life?

Choose wisely and start planting.