The Tree I Kept Drawing: A Reflection on Eastern Philosophy.

The Tree I Kept Drawing: A Reflection on Eastern Philosophy

We each carry a unique vibrational energy. No two people are alike, and no one arrives in this world by mistake. Eastern philosophy, especially through the lens of saju (Four Pillars of Destiny), teaches us that we are all composed of different elemental forces—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—and that each life follows its own natural rhythm. When I embraced this, I stopped finding life so difficult. I no longer compared myself to others, nor did I try to meet standards that weren’t mine. Understanding the nature of my energy was enough to bring peace.

I Was Wood.

According to Eastern philosophy, I was born with a strong wood element. Wood represents growth. It stretches upward, slowly but surely, rooting deeply into the earth as it reaches for the sun. It is not fast, not flashy, but deeply persistent. And it often grows in quiet places—beneath shade, within forests, along mountainsides—where few may notice, yet it thrives all the same.

When I learned this, I suddenly remembered something: I had always drawn trees. Again and again. I hadn’t known why. I just assumed I liked them. But now I see—I was drawing myself. Painting, again and again, the quiet essence of who I was.

The Burning Tree

One of my favorite artworks is a painting I titled The Burning Tree. It hangs in my kitchen, and I’ve always felt a strange connection to it, without fully understanding why—until I revisited my saju through Eastern thought.

Wood and fire, in Eastern cosmology, are intimately connected. Wood gives birth to fire. Fire needs wood to exist, to rise, to burn. When wood meets fire, it becomes expression, transformation, light. That burning tree I painted wasn’t just dramatic imagery—it was a reflection of the fire within me. My desire to create, to express, to pour passion into art. That tree is me, too.

Saju Is Not Fate or Faith—It’s a Map to understand our life.

Saju does not define your fate. It’s not about prediction. Rather, it is a map. It shows what kind of energy you were born with and what flows naturally with your being. Once you know your energy, you stop trying to become something else. I don’t need to be a galloping horse or a rushing wind. I am a tree. And knowing this, all the choices I’ve made—what I’ve drawn, how I teach, how I speak, how I connect—make sense.

Living Like a Tree

​I still live as a tree. I grow at my own pace. I find my soil. I burn when I need to, and I rest when the season calls for it. I create art. I teach children. I use emotions more than words, and I offer shade more than spotlight. This is the life my saju describes, and I am grateful to be walking that path.
To know your saju is to understand what kind of tree you are. And from that moment on, your life no longer feels so unstable.
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Sometimes, it’s essential to pause and look at life from a different angle. Eastern philosophy allows us to do that. It doesn’t give us all the answers, but it reminds us of something more important—where we came from, and the rhythm we were born to follow.

​A poetic reflection on understanding life through Eastern philosophy and saju (Four Pillars of Destiny). The author shares how discovering her elemental energy—wood—helped explain her lifelong love for drawing trees and her way of being.

​ChatGPT interprets the five elements and energy flow of the four pillars of destiny based on Eastern philosophy when you enter your date of birth and time of birth. Then, based on this information, AI can create an image symbolizing the individual’s temperament or disposition. Users can simply request, “Please draw my four pillars of destiny,” and through the emotional explanations and visual images that follow, they can gain self-understanding and creative inspiration. This function can be used in various ways, such as blog content, self-introductions, and brand image creation.
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​“Early morning, in the misty mountains,
A tree that has just begun to see the first rays of sunlight.
It is still quiet,
but soon it will bloom and brighten the forest.”

​I got the image above through ChatGPT.
“You are a person who grows light with your own power.”
This interpretation touched my heart deeply.
It was like a sentence that comforted and revived me now, saying that I am a being that grows with the energy within me, not with someone’s approval or external conditions.

​When we want to understand ourselves more deeply, we often look for various tools such as psychology, philosophy, religion, and art. Among these, utilizing traditional methods from the East and the West together can be a very meaningful journey. In the East, humans are viewed as a part of nature through the four pillars of destiny, the five elements, and the flow of yin and yang, and the harmony of the flow of life and energy is emphasized. On the other hand, in the West, astrology, constellations, and planetary arrangements are used to analyze an individual's temperament, emotions, and relationship tendencies, and provide interpretations close to a psychological approach.

ChatGPT allows you to explore these traditional methods easily and interestingly. When you enter your date of birth and time, you will receive an interpretation of your four pillars based on Eastern philosophy, as well as visually symbolic images, which go beyond simple analysis and add emotional empathy. In the West, you can also receive articles that allow you to look back on your personality traits or interpersonal relationships through constellations or personality analysis.

In this way, AI tools are not just simple prophecies, but can be mirrors that help you explore and reflect on your existence from various angles. When life feels overwhelming or you need to re-evaluate your direction, borrow insights from both East and West to find unexpected comfort and inspiration.