All over the world, trees are revered by many. They are considered to be the Earth’s giants and in some cultures, ancient spirits or mystic entities. Whether you practice putting up a Christmas Tree each holiday season, climbed, crawled or swayed on a swing attached to one, you too have had your own personal interaction with a tree, somewhere and sometime in your life. With just one touch of a hand, one can grasp the immenseness and know there is a universal life force that exists within in it, just as within ourselves.
When amidst a forest, people tend to find themselves in awe and experience a sense of serenity. Whether it be the size of a tremendous tree trunk, or the extending energy in branches, softness in the tender leaves visible to the eyes or underfoot, people can experience tranquility. A woodland can be a place to get lost or rediscover oneself. I’ve walked amongst giants and experienced a connection with spirit and sat cradled in the trunk of a tree and felt mothered. Trees can prove that the existence of life is more than we think or believe it to be.
People reference a tree and forests quite often as self reflections and life lessons. A forest can be likened to a family, branches to one’s growth and the trunk and roots to one’s identification of Self. Yogi Bears often practice Tree Pose (Vrikshasana) because it encourages concentration and focus of the mind to be “in the Now” and is believed to be indicative of one’s emotional and energetic disposition. The busier the mind and more emotionally unbalanced; the harder it is to sustain the pose. Trees have become quite the talk of the town! Ecologists like Suzanne Simard have been changing the way people think of trees by sharing her life story and scientific discoveries. Simard’s TedTalk: “How Trees Talk To Each Other” and her recent documentary “Intelligent Trees” has really enhanced society’s awareness that trees are much more than meets the eye; they are intelligent beings that flourish in community. Just like people.
We can a learn a great deal from a single tree. Not just in life, but also in death. When a tree dies, it can take on a new form of life. In Northern California in Eureka, an area established during logging days, many abandoned tree trunk bases today are generating new branches. Trees can take on new forms like when severed trunk becomes a bridge for people to cross or a pedestal to sit upon. A dead tree can also inspire new life; the forest or jungle will use the decomposing material to generate new life around it.
Trees hold life, wisdom and even magic. Ever just sat and gazed at one?
If you have ever looked upon a tree long enough then you have come to recognize that its visual beauty is not due to perfection or symmetry. No tree is perfectly symmetrical or without embellishments. This is what makes a tree unique and beautiful; its asymmetry and wounds. A tree will usually find a way to heal itself either by scarring over a wound or creating a “mound” to protect itself. Sort of like people. If you can consider a tree to be beautiful, in all its imperfections and recognize the wisdom it has because of the life it has lived, can you consider yourself beautiful - with all your imperfections and recognize the wisdom in your life experiences?
I encourage you to sit with one. Just sit and listen with your heart and your intuition. Take the time for yourself to be in nature and to perhaps feel one with nature. If your immediate response is a list of reasons why you do not have the time, then my friend, this is exactly why you need to go talk with a tree. Trust me.