This is a story about what happened when Professor Jared Diamond, a renowned American scholar, was staying in New Guinea when he was young. One day, he went into the deep forest with some natives, and stayed there for the night. He suggested that they pitch a tent under a big tree where stars were shining through the gaps between the branches. However, the natives opposed his idea vigorously.
“It’s a dead tree. We don’t know when it’s going to fall. It might fall on us while we are sleeping!”
Instead, the natives took him to an open space. He thought the natives were being too extreme and unnecessarily worried.
Afterwards, while he was continuing his research in the forest, he witnessed dead trees falling several times. Then, he finally realized what the natives meant. Since a complacent act can bring about a fatal result, he could completely understand their lifestyle to take precaution thoroughly.
In our daily lives too, there are things that threaten our safety and happiness like the dead tree. Breaking the traffic law, abusing the items of personal preference, postponing what we need to do, complaining, etc. If we repeat these things like habits, it will be like sleeping under a dead tree that could fall at any time.