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A Dead Branch Explained the Problem with Modern Life
What a hundred-year-old tree taught me about work, AI, and real authenticity
Everything is either magnificent or catastrophic now.
That’s how you get attention.
A thumbnail promises the best experience of your life. The next one warns you about the worst mistake you can make. One thing is genius. The next is a disaster.
There’s no room left for the middle. For the in-between.
I understand why it works online.
Social media rewards extremes. We click on excess. A quiet story about nuance doesn’t travel as far or as fast.
Still, the problem goes beyond social media.
The same thinking has moved into everyday discussions. Working from home versus working at the office. Letting students use AI versus banning it from education. Children on social media versus children kept away from it.
Everything becomes a camp. Everything becomes black or white. Everything becomes dead or alive.
Then, a hundred-year-old tree reminded me that the world is rarely that simple.
