Trees
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My head and my heart are here
I’ve been really seeing trees all summer. I’ve been on porches and paths and docks for several weeks — near white pines and red pines, cedar, spruce, and birch trees. Normally, I long for community and all the distractions of the city when I’m away, but this summer I took comfort in the company of trees. I think part of this was connected to spreading my Moms ashes up in the Canadian wilderness, where I grew up spending my summers. I think connecting to the trees there connected me to her, somewhere out there…everywhere in that beautiful forest.
The early summer kick off was a nasty bout of Covid that forced me to be still and rest, so by the time I arrived in the woods — still pretty fatigued and recovering, I was less alarmed by my own stillness. Looking back now, I’m kind of grateful for that portal. Yes, I had more time to grieve and ache, but I could also sense the hum of everything: trees, winds, waters. I believe what I have been taught (and what I try to teach) from the yoga tradition — that we are all connected, deeply and completely. And I don’t just believe it. I feel it… when I remember to be still…when I stop striving and planning and craving and scrolling. The trees don’t judge. They breathe and grow and support each other via underground and unseen vast fungal networks.
(Offer a tree membership in a club, a political party, a religion. Ask a tree to take sides about anything …… good luck!)
Here’s something else about trees: I learned recently that they need wind to stimulate their growth. In other words: adversity and resistance are essential ingredients for optimal growth. So we aren’t so different from them after all.
May we all flourish in stillness, adversity and connection like the trees!