I am noticing nature more lately, especially trees.  It’s hard to not notice all the color that suddenly bursts into the world at the onset of Spring.  Seeing all the green and all the newness just feels good.  I’ll stand under a huge tree and look up at the branches and leaves and be in awe of her beauty and the root system that pulls just what it needs from the earth to sustain this amazing thing. These roots grow deep and wide sometimes busting through rock and crappy soil constantly searching for nutrients to survive and flourish.  All the while, these amazing beings protects us, provide for new life, feed us oxygen and clean the air so we can live on this planet. What trees actually do, sounds very maternal to me.

Watch a tree during a storm.  They bend, sway and lose leaves as they get pummeled by snow, wind and rain.  After a big storm of snow and ice, the branches of trees carry the burden of what hit them.  Branches bend due to the accumulation of frozen mix collected during the storm.  Some branches even break and fall because of the weight they carry. Those who hold on to the trunk, patiently wait until the sun comes out so its heat can begin to melt away what their branches are holding. The sun’s rays and the reflection this creates, turns branches into shiny jewels as they release the burden of what had befallen them earlier drip by drip. I feel relief for the tree as I watch her branches move up towards the sky because they are lighter and unencumbered.  The sun has released the tree from its burden and fed the tree what it needs to grow again or just hold on, warmth and light.

There is so much to learn from trees.  Think about your roots.  What are the things that keep us grounded, allow us to flourish or sometimes just keep us from becoming completely uprooted?  To start, it’s faith, a sense of capability, self-awareness and love.  These are the roots that drive us to search out good soil and pull what we need from something as simple as dirt.  We try to grow our roots deep and wide because we believe there is more to life sometimes than what we see.  It’s not easy busting through rocky soil and it is not without hard work, but it can be done. We’re also capable of sending out a new shoot in a different direction if all else fails. Being aware of what we feed our roots either fosters our feelings of capability or stunt our growth.  Self-loathing does not bring about positive change and send our branches skyward, only self-love does that.  And even when a branch breaks off our trunks, this natural pruning allows us to grow in a different way often leaving us stronger because we’ve released something that was taking up way too much of our energy and time.

I feel comforted knowing that trees and humans are unique, interdependent creatures in constant search for loving nutrients and light. Community is a forest made up of one-of-a-kind people searching for growth and light together realizing when one of us goes down, it will affect the whole forest. This fall, pick up an acorn, hold it in your palm and look up at the oak that dropped it to start new life. Marvel at all that is contained in that tiny package and be reminded of all that’s contained in you. Let your colors shine.

Questions/activities to ponder or good journal prompts!

1. What do you love about trees and why?
2. Sunshine causes the ice to melt off of branches after a storm, allowing the tree to release its burden. During this process, the sun’s light reflects off of the icy branches causing them to look like shiny jewels. What has melted away in your life that has revealed a shiny jewel?
3. What sustains and grows your roots? Are they the same as listed above? What would you add or what might you take away?
4. A tree’s roots are kept encased in burlap and rope before it’s planted and it will not flourish until what confines it is cut away. What is keeping you from growing or expanding? What do you need to prune to promote moving deeper into the earth and lift towards the sun?
5. Acorns are pregnant with possibility. Write or think about what that means and how that relates to you.