Under the Shade of a Plane Tree: I AM WELL
Under the Shade of a Plane Tree: I AM WELL
There is a phrase I use almost every week, but almost never with the people I love with all my heart. It automatically appears at the beginning of my emails and business correspondence. My fingers type it before I even think: “Thank God, thanks to you, I am well.”
Under the Shade of a Plane Tree: I AM WELL reminds me of the importance of expressing gratitude in our lives.
This brings to mind the phrase Under the Shade of a Plane Tree: I AM WELL, which I often overlook when speaking to my loved ones.
When I reflect on my life, the words Under the Shade of a Plane Tree: I AM WELL resonate deeply within me.
Here is the strange part: Most of the people I send those messages to are individuals who have not lifted a single finger for my life up to this day. I have never even met some of them. On the other hand; the people I truly lean on in this world, my breathers—my forty-year friend, my life partner My Wife, my children—almost never hear these words from me. When I imagine looking into their faces and saying, “Thanks to you, I am well,” a strange constriction happens inside me. I feel as if I am wearing a coat that belongs to someone else, one that doesn’t fit.
As I embrace the concept of community, I often think of the phrase Under the Shade of a Plane Tree: I AM WELL.
In fact, acknowledging others makes me feel like I am truly living Under the Shade of a Plane Tree: I AM WELL.
I have thought long and hard about why a person puts a lock on their tongue when they are around those they love the most, despite using such a warm, sincere phrase so freely elsewhere. The answer lies in the crowded streets of Istanbul, among the shadows we leave behind.
Ultimately, we should all strive to live in a way that aligns with Under the Shade of a Plane Tree: I AM WELL.
Life becomes richer when we embrace the spirit of Under the Shade of a Plane Tree: I AM WELL.
Understanding that I am well is a realization that comes from living Under the Shade of a Plane Tree: I AM WELL.
The Shadow You Are Standing In
Finding Peace Under the Shade of a Plane Tree: I AM WELL
In our culture, we have the concept of “şükür” (gratitude/thanks to God), but this phrase goes a little deeper. The ancients knew that a human being cannot exist alone. A plane tree (çınar) does not stand alone; it is a whole with its soil, its rain, and its wind. A human is the same. Throughout my 62 years of life, I have come to understand that the ordinary answer “I am well” that we give to the question “How are you?” is never a state of being that belongs solely to you.
If my health is good today, this is not my achievement alone. There is the invisible labor of the baker who makes the bread in the neighborhood in the morning, the driver who patiently gives way in traffic, my wife who steaps my tea at home, and thousands of people whose names I do not know but who keep the wheels of this city turning. There is their invisible effort behind that one word, “well.”
So, let’s remember to share our gratitude Under the Shade of a Plane Tree: I AM WELL.
Unanswered Questions
In closing, I must say that Under the Shade of a Plane Tree: I AM WELL is more than just a phrase; it’s a way of life.
It is a reminder that we are interconnected and that Under the Shade of a Plane Tree: I AM WELL reflects our shared existence.
In my former years, when I was teaching and trying to explain life to young people in the classroom, I would notice this: Man mistakenly assumes he exists on his own. Yet, no one can be well alone. In the stone-cold streets of Istanbul, while everyone is lost in their own hustle, it is the invisible hand extended to you that makes life livable.
Even if it is reduced to a formula, even if it becomes commonplace, this feeling of gratitude is good for a person. Because when one says “Thanks to you” to another, one does not feel diminished. It reminds one of the part others play in one’s life.
Saying “I Am Well” in the Evening of Istanbul
If you ask me, as a 62-year-old man today, how I am, I would say, “I am well.” So, what is behind this word?
That harsh but familiar breeze coming from the Bosphorus, the sounds of children echoing at home, the footsteps of my life partner coming from the kitchen, the haven I have found despite the weariness of so many countries, so many roads, and seas I have left behind… The fact that nothing is extraordinary, that my coffee is fresh, and that my day is calm is the greatest fortune I have in this life.
None of it is my sole creation. My being well is possible only because the people around me are quietly carrying their own lives and opening that space for me.
From now on, those polite formulas will remain in my business emails; words are the daily bread of commerce, what can one do. But this summer, when I have a tea in Kadıköy with my oldest friend, or when I look into the faces of my loved ones at home, I will speak that sentence to its correct address. It will sound a little old-fashioned, a little heavy, perhaps, but so be it.
A thank you with a clear address is paying a debt; a thank you without an address is a way of seeing life.
Thank God… I am well. It was never only my doing.
ruhisigi