A chopped tree. Or a fallen tree. Sometimes life can feel this way. But usually the roots and the lowest part of the trunk stay in place. A fact that can get reflected in human life too, with any interpretation that might be given.
I came across this quote which I think completes my above mentioned thoughts in a beautiful way:
“The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry