Ecclesiastes 11:3 contains a cryptic observation: “If a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will be.”

I never could figure that one out. I found little help from the commentaries.

Perhaps a clue lies in the general difference between Eastern and Western wisdom. Western wisdom says, like Horace Greeley, “Go west, young man,” urging us to explore, investigate, find new worlds and conquer them.

Eastern wisdom instructs us to observe the way the world works, and live life in harmony with nature. Which is the correct form of wisdom? Both of them, according to the Preacher of Ecclesiastes.

The verses ahead of this one urge the reader to explore new sources of income, “Cast your bread upon the waters,” and seek varied forms of investment “Give a portion to seven or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may happen on earth.”

Back to the tree fallen in the forest. Could the immovable tree mean that there are some things in life that are outside one’s grasp, that it is wise to accept and not worry about them?

That’s what Rienhold Niebuhr concluded in his famous Serenity Prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.”

Here’s how the fallen tree plays out. You can’t turn it around, so quit worrying about it. Significant things occurred in your past. There was abuse, trauma or misfortune.

When you encounter a fallen tree in the forest, you can’t do anything about it, except to just climb over it or go around. Seems to make sense to me.

Stop ruminating about your painful past. In climbing over the trees in your mind you made many interesting discoveries. Grow from them. A better life awaits.

(Bill Whaley is minister of the Church of Christ at Little).