Plant a tree beside your house. Every day, say "Good morning" to it. It rustles its leaves and says, "Hello, how are you?" You have now made a new friend, a companion, a new sibling. You grow up, and so does the tree. There's a race on between the two of you. And when you are down sick, the tree cheers you up with its vivid evergreen leaves, encouraging you, saying " Get better! Don't give up!"

You plant another tree by your house. Now there are two voices greeting you "Good morning, have a wonderful day." Now you feel twice as good. If you fall ill, there will be two voices telling you to " get better." It now takes less time for you to get well. And you feel even more strength to compete with the tree that is getting taller.

You plant a third tree by your house. Now there is a chorus of three voices wishing you "Good morning." When your mother and father are not home, and you're on your own, you no longer need to feel alone. Now, you can have a chat with the trees you planted, and you know that they are always right by your side, day and night, even through the rainy and windy days. You've made friends who will listen to you, and give you shade when the sun beats down. When you're praised or scolded at school, play or fight with friends, or have a happy or a sad tale to tell, they will listen, no matter what. So your heart will be enriched, making it brighter, happier and healthier. There is nothing more re-assuring than having a friend always by your side.

You plant a forth, fifth, sixth, and seventh tree by your house. You plant the tenth, twentieth, and thirtieth tree. When you plant the one hundredth, two hundredth, three hundredth, five hundredth, and one thousandth tree, you have a wood, and finally, a forest. Now, you have created a giant ensemble of forests and woods wishing you "Good morning." This not only gives you great joy and great solace but it also shows that you have created a small village of woods and forests.

These are not the wild woods found in nature. These breathing forests and woods give you, villagers, and the people in the cities, the same air, water and earth to share, live and breathe. They overflow with life. Birds gather to sing beautiful songs, bees to make delicious honey, and insects to buzz around. It is a place where the light shines between the trees, a place where, after the rain, raindrops glisten on the leaves, creating the most beautiful works of art.

It is a place where life sparkles, where both humans and nature listen to their hearts, and love one another. It is a place to hear choruses and symphonies from the trees in the woods and forests.

When every single one of the trees you have planted reaches maturity, becoming woods and forests, that will be your spiritual home, your heart's treasure. Even when you become an adult, and perhaps live and work on the other side of the globe, the trees you planted, the woods and forests you created, will have the love that you fostered them with. These forests will become the spiritual home to which you should return. This is where love, beauty and peace reside. The trees that you planted are your true loving friends because they have been your friends from childhood.

Let us begin by planting a single tree beside our own house. Plant a tree, love the tree and make the effort to go back to where beauty and serenity originated. By adding another tree and yet another one, you make more friends, both for the trees and for yourself. Hand in hand, create a spiritual home that is all encompassing.

Our bright future resides only in a place where mankind and trees, mankind and nature, mankind and other creatures can live, breathe and exist together. This is the place where we will find true happiness in the Twenty-first Century.