INSPIRATION FROM TREE

"I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree."

Joyce Kilmer (1886 - 1918), "Trees" (poem), 1914

"Every time I meet a tree, if I am truly awake, I stand in awe
before it. I listen to its voice, a silent sermon moving me to the
depths, touching my heart, and stirring up within my soul a yearning
to give my all."
Macrina Wiederkehr, A Tree Full of Angels (1988)


I can pretty safely guess that we've all seen a tree or two in our
time. But can we say we've actually met a tree? Trees are incredibly
beautiful living beings. We can learn so much from their inherent
wisdom. My teacher, Louise Taylor, used to say that spirituality is
like the trunk of a tree. From there strong branches can grow, our
career, health, relationships and everything else. But if we get
caught out on a limb, we become off balance. Our spirituality is our
strength, our core.



Intuitive Sympathy

"She had so deep a kinship with the trees, so intuitive a sympathy
with leaf and flower, that it seemed as if the blood in her veins
was not slow-moving human blood, but volatile sap."
Mary Webb, Gone to Earth (1917)


Some people have this innate connection with the plant world. I
guess those would be the same people who have "green thumbs." There
is a definite communication that goes on between plants and animals,
whether we are aware of it or not. We can find peace in nature. We
can find ourselves in that peace.



Resilient

"I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have
to live than other things do."
Willa Cather, O Pioneers! (1913)



Trees are patient. They are resilient. They don't try to be
something they're not. They don't get jealous of faster growing
varieties. They bloom where they are planted, and make the best of
it. They don't make any demands. There is a children's book
called "The Giving Tree" which really explains generosity. We can
learn a lot from trees.



Look Up

"When you look up from your typewriter, look at the trees, not the
calendar."
Mary Virginia Micka, The Cazenovia Journal (1990)



That's good advice for all of us these days! We're on the computer
so much. When we get a moment's break, what do we do? If we can just
take some time to re-connect with nature, to remember the beauty
that surrounds us, we will be so much more natural and relaxed.
There is a tree right outside my office window. It looks so calm,
and it makes me feel calm to just sit and look out the window for
awhile.



Lungs Of The Earth

Trees are the lungs of the earth. Just as we breathe oxygen into our
lungs and exhale carbon dioxide, so trees breathe carbon dioxide
into their leaves and exhale oxygen."
Helen Caldicott, If You Love this Planet (1992)



Reciprocity. There is a science to it. We're here for a reason.
Trees are here for a reason. We can learn from each other, grow with
each other, help each other breathe!



Benefit another Generation

"He plants trees to benefit another generation."
Caecilius Statius (220 BC - 168 BC), Synephebi



What a legacy we can leave for the future if we plant a tree!
Consider the Oak, for example. It stands for hundreds of years,
bringing joy to all who see it or stand beneath its branches. The
ancient Druids held it as sacred, and well we can understand this
for, I believe, it is the most majestic of trees.

"He that plants trees loves others beside himself."
Dr. Thomas Fuller (1654 - 1734), Gnomologia, 1732


The Best Fruit

The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.
Moliere (1622 - 1673)

Often in todays hurried life we look to reap a harvest before it is
ready. If we are prepared to be patient and give Time its due we
will find that the plentiful harvest will come in and our lives will be truly fruitful.