When my daughter was in primary school, one day she brought home 4 tiny trees, which were given to the students by the school to plant. None of them looked very strong but with a hope for the future.

I planted them in our backyard. Over the years an accident brought an end to three of them. All that was left was a weak tree. It grew very slowly and never got very tall. I noticed a few years ago that it was starting to die. The needles on the branches had turned brown. Only the top third of the tree was still green.

Last summer I did my best to save it but it was useless. This morning I went out and looked at it again. I was deciding on whether it would be better to just cut it down.

As I walked over to take a closer look at it, however, I noticed something moving within the needles. It was a bird patiently building a nest in the top branches.

I smiled when I looked at it and decided that maybe this old tree had some life and usefulness left in it yet. It may not be healthy or pretty but it was still giving a bird a home and oxygen (氧气) to this world.

This tree reminded me of something too. All of our lives have purpose. All of our lives have meaning. It doesn’t matter if we are young and strong or old and sickly. Until our last breath there are things for us to do, love for us to give, and joy for us to share. Until our last moment here we can help to make this world a better and more beautiful place.