Hey Dan.
To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep,
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub:
The trees have got it all worked out ... it's not one or the other, life or death ... it's both. When conditions are right (summer, spring and fall), open your arms, grow and multiply. When conditions are wrong (winter), don't 'suffer the slings and arrows of life's outrageous fortune' ... go take a nap and wait it out.
This, too, shall pass.
There are things to ponder in this approach. Trees do end up living a long time, don't they?
Quill