I often walk in the morning and am stunned by the consciousness that abounds in nature and the lessons that can be gleaned by one who is paying attention. Natures communication is subtle and usually speaks to me through my intuition. I know this because often strong feelings are inspired and when I take the time to be with these feelings often they speak volumes to me. Recently I wrote about my sunflowers in a blog called A Sunflower Taught me about Overcoming Adversity. You can read it here.
For my whole life nature has spoken to me although I didn’t always know it. I’ve always known that nothing that comes into my awareness is wasted and that the universe uses every opportunity to teach and inspire me.
Trees are awesome teachers that possess great strength, stillness, resiliency, connection, goundedness, beauty and resolve. These are just a few of the adjectives that come to me off the top of my head but I’m sure you can add your own to describe your favorite tree.
After hurricane Isaias the messages from nature were coming to me loudly and I would pass many downed trees during my daily walk. When I stopped to pay homage to these giants that had given way and were broken or pulled up from their roots I was stunned to feel great resolve and strength. When I stood with the tree to sense more deeply I felt none of the emotions of sadness or loss that I felt but a knowing that its life was not over because its visible form was gone. It’s as if the tree was trying to convey to me that it knew what was coming and that the wind sent a warning through its system but being a tree it knew there was nothing to “do.” The tree had no choice but to continue standing in its lifelong spot and weather the storm taking whatever mother nature threw her way. The tree had to “be.” There was no fear for its future or memories from the past. There was only the present moment
When the wind gust pulled on the tree and the deep roots snapped there was no stopping it from going down. Down she fell taking the soil and power lines with her and darkening all the homes on her grid. It only seems right that such a magnificent being should have such an impact on us when her outer physical form comes crashing down.
The tree knew there was nothing to do and simply had to take what was coming. She did this with power and grace knowing that her outer form would be no more. Her deep, deep roots carry on with her connection to all the other tree beings and they still share information, nourishment and more wisdom than we can possibly know. You see the trees were here before us and they will surely out live us. They have seen a lot and weathered many storms and will carry on even when its outer form is severely damaged or compromised. And when the tree is completely uprooted and no longer visible to us still its life will continue.
Unlike humans, nature uses its interconnectedness to benefit all of life. The form of the tree has changed but still it continues in its vital role to all its neighbors.
We can’t wiggle out of this one.
The other thing I want to mention is a concept Pema Chodron talks about a lot in her work called Maitri.
One heart 