Monday, March 23, 2009

wisdom of trees


this morning, at 7:30 am, i was awakened to the brutal sounds of an electric saw. i wasn't sure why, at such an early time, there was this noise, and it seemed to be sawing right into my bed, it was so loud and close. i looked outside my bedroom window, and i saw that there were some men pruning back the tree that stands on the other side of our backyard fence, on our neighbor's property. i stepped outside, to be sure that they were just "pruning" the tree, and to my dismay, they were chopping her down. since i have moved into this house, i have enjoyed this beautiful tree (it was probably over 70 years old) and it gave so much to me...beauty, shade, grounding...and it probably gave enough oxygen to all the neighbors that live on our block.
spiritually...it acted as a bridge between this world and another...its roots grounding into the earth, bringing me into the deep knowledge and wisdom that is alive and teeming with infinite insight and creation. its trunk brought this wisdom up from the earth, uniting the roots through its leaves with the ancient life of the stars.
so many nights i would walk out into the backyard and hear the ocean breeze rustling through the leaves...sounding like waves lightly touching the shore, or like a soft rain hitting the ground.
the sadness is strong this morning, as i feel the loss of a friend...a wise, old and consistent friend who is now gone. it would have been one thing to have returned home to find the tree gone, but instead, the sounds of the saw grinding the tree down to its stump, and eventual "death" was a profoundly sad experience for me, and i will miss that tree and all its infinite gifts.
i give thanks for the gifts of all of creation, big and small, seen and unseen, whose interdependence is felt more and more as i tune in to my vulnerability and dependence upon all life as a spiritual being having a human experience.

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