Tree in the Forest

I know I go on about it.  I guess it is because I am a balance guy.  I can’t help but think what I see implies life is all entertainment.  When I go shopping often music is playing, I go to the movies and escape for a while.  I visit theme parks and other displays set up specifically for my entertainment.
I so think it is good these places exist, and I will avail myself of them from time to time.  I heard someone say recently that why is not the money spent on celebrating New Years given to the poor instead of being spent on fireworks?  I totally think the poor need to be catered for, but I can do that anytime as they will always be there.
For me there is a time to celebrate and a time to provide.  I love celebrations.  I reckon life would be pretty miserable if it were all serious stuff.  Even those involved in a fight need to withdraw sometimes.  I need rest and recuperation.  No wonder it was said “all work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy.”
I have gone down this track because today is not a rah rah day.  In fact, a number of days in a row have been like that.  It is not like I am depressed, but neither am I hyper.  It is just another day.  I am thankful for positive changes I see in me, and also realize there is work to be done.  I find it important I know help is available, and I know where to go to get it.
Someone said to me if they had it their way they would be barricaded in their room, sitting behind a desk manning the machine gun pointing at the door.   Everyone is safe, but I feel I understood where they were coming from.  I have things to do and I will do them, but it is not like I am real excited about it.  So much is getting on with it and doing what I need to do.
To me balance is the stuff of life.  Yet I cannot help but think the pendulum has swung too far towards unreality.  It is almost like “if I sweep this stuff under the carpet it does not exist.”
Like the question “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”  My answer to that is yes.  I may be that tree.  I reckon often no sound is heard because of the clamour.  When we want to hear something, we get everyone to be quiet so it can be heard.
Lots of trees fall in forests.  It matters less that the sound is not heard from a great distance, but that the sound is heard and there is someone there.  Better still if someone is there to stop the tree from falling, but that is a best-case scenario.
I read recently about someone who had something tragic happen in their life.  Of two visitors that came, one talked a lot, and the person could not wait for them to leave.  The other said nothing and just sat with them, and the person really appreciated the visit.
To me, that is what empathy is all about.  Being there for the tree that falls in the forest.