I was one of the many who asked the same question , it would seem (lol) that lightning would follow the chunkiest mass . So if it struck a tree that you were attached to in theory it should stay in that mass and run out into the ground...in theory.
What I would worry about is this : Any tree has an abundance of water inside it , when lightning hits a tree it immediatly vaporizes the water content of the tree turning it into steam , the steam has no where to go but out which creates an "explosion" . If the tree is small enough in diameter it could create shrapnel of varying sizes , all of which would be wizzing through the air faster than a bullet .
To be honest , lightning scares me the most outside.....so I have tried to educate myself about it , google lightning strikes in forrest areas and notice the trends....always keep things higher than you and your feet off the ground....like Shug and Hickery say...it only hurts if you live..LOL!!!