It’s said that a flower is the highest essence of a plant because the plant has grown from a tiny seed to a whole plant, despite all odds. The plant had to learn to care for itself and adapt to its environment to take in nutrients, photosynthesize, and grow. Once it survives and thrives, it will produce a budding flower that can lead it to its next procreative cycle.
But when I think of trees, I have difficulty pinpointing their source of wisdom. What would hold its highest essence? It cannot just be in their springtime flowers or budding cones. However, this is a spectacle to behold. Their trunks and branches, perhaps, but what of their deep and extensive root system? Or their chemical processes or intricate cellular systems?
Perhaps it’s not for me to inquire but instead to enjoy. Wherever its ancient wisdom lies, I know it’s infinite and powerful. Tapping into it offers lessons for anyone wishing to learn. To exist and sit quietly in a tree’s presence is a gift to the soul. To marvel at its impossible beauty, to ponder its existence and source of creation, to imagine the adversities overcome, the support and nourishment given to other beings, all of this can fill one’s heart and stir one’s mind.
Thanks to trees, I have learned to sit still and be patient and quiet. How to listen for things that cannot be heard but only felt. How to appreciate the messy reality of life and find balance in it. How to bend, stay flexible, and adapt to changes so I can grow stronger rather than break. How to reach for higher states, but remember the importance of staying grounded, rooted in reality, the present moment, earth.
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