The Lessons of Trees

Trees. As I walk and hike, I revel in trees. Ponderosa pines and junipers. Mesquite and aspens. Cedars and maples. Each has a story to tell, and a journey to make. Some, as aspens, live in tribes. They support each other as they make their community beneath the ground. Others are like lonely sentinels. Not like hermits who stand alone out of weakness, but like great solitary beings. In the topmost branches, the world rustles with the life of birds and squirrels, with roots in infinity. They fulfill their lives with one thing only: to live their lives according to their own laws. To build their own forms. To stand for themselves.

These trees are magnificent. When a tree is cut down, its entire history is there for all to see. The multiple rings of its years show its scars. All the suffering of drought, the happiness and prosperity of plentiful rain are there. The lean years. The luxurious years. The storms endured and the attacks overcome all leave their mark in these rings.

Trees are a place of refuge. Whoever can speak to them, to listen to them, can heal within. They do not lecture right and wrong, but preach their own ancient law of life.

A tree will tell you: a spark, a thought is hidden inside. The attempt to grow and flourish against many odds is mine. From the forms and veins of my branches to the patterns of my skin. The smallest scar in my bark and the tiny play of my leaves all create a symphony of understanding.

A tree also says: my strength is trust. While I know nothing about where I came from or nothing about the thousand children that spring from me every year, I trust that all is well. I care for nothing else. Out of this trust, I live and thrive.

The tree also has wise counsel when life gets too hard. Be still. Go within. Home is within you, or nowhere at all. The metaphors for life are numerous, easy to apply to a daily life.

Inner peace

I am grateful for the lessons these trees offer. But how to have this peace in a time of strife? Heart Math Institute has a process to bring harmony and that stillness we long for. I’d like to share it with you.

• Sit in a comfortable place. One that is quiet and without distractions.
• Close your eyes . . . And take a deep breath in . . . Then release that breath . . . Now another deep breath in . . . and release that breath. With this next breath in . . . breathing in pure relaxation. Breathing out all the tension, the worry the frustration of the day.
• And as you do, start to open your heart . . . The opening may be very small as you first begin . . . but you can gradually expand it more . . . and more.
• There is a light in your heart . . . Let that light shine from this open space . . . Let it radiate outward.
• And as it does . . . let the light begin to fill your body . . . First the torso . . . Your shoulders and upper back . . . Your stomach and your hips . . . Your legs . . . Your arms . . . Your neck and your head . . . Thoughts that float through your mind are bathed in this light.
• Now, let the light radiate out beyond your body . . . as far as it will go. Feeling the wholeness . . . the completeness . . . the freedom within.
• When the time is right, bring yourself back to your natural state of awareness, enjoying the light and love flowing through you.

Let your light shine this Thanksgiving season. Enjoy the lessons of the trees and the bounty that is yours. Live unstuck.