The Art of

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The Generous Friendship of Trees

November 11, 2020

I turned off the car, took one conscious breath, and sat a moment.

Finding a space of peace within as I let my busy mind and active body settle from my morning. Silently, I breathed away those thoughts which competed for my scattered attention. Encouraged by my newfound peace, my eyes focused on what stood before me.

A beautiful tree of red situated next to a smaller tree of yellow.

Such beauty in these Fall colors! They had not been present last time I parked my car before them. Or had they? I didn’t know. So often racing from one space to another. I didn’t notice them yesterday, but these delightful colors were definitely present today.

I breathed in appreciation of the artistry dancing in the breeze before me.

My eyes slowly wandered to the left and took a moment to process the mix of colors around me. A beautiful holly tree with glistening green leaves. So vibrantly alive. These sturdy green leaves reflected the light as if diamonds had taken a pause in flight to wink at me.

I couldn’t help but noticing how generously the natural world shared beauty, diversity, and support.

Woven into the green holly leaves were splashes of red. The branches of the neighboring tree had come to visit, rest, and share in the beautification of this tiny patch of nature. I wondered if the red leaves understood the holly’s desire to adorn herself. Or if it was a beautiful friendship where the holly enjoyed both the brilliant red leaves and the stark naked branches of her neighbor.

I don’t know how long I sat there. Creatively exploring the intent and friendship of the trees before me.

Smiling, I realized that this decorative gift of red was to be repaid in time. Day after day the red leaves would flutter in the breeze, leaving branches of brown unadorned. No longer offering a gift of color to the holly, roles would reverse as the receiver became the giver.

Throughout the winter, the vibrant holly tree would cradle the naked branches and adorn them with leaves of green and diamond lights.

I figured then that the sun and breeze conspired to dance this model of reciprocal giving. So its graceful movement and reflecting light might catch the fancy of a distracted driver who parked before it.

Inviting her to take a breath, enjoy a moment of stillness, and feel a deep sense of peace.

Such a generous lesson before me. One that had been missed over many, many years of parking in that spot. Funny thing. In the days that followed, I found generous weavings of red, orange, brown, and green everywhere I went. When I was distracted by mindless, unimportant thoughts, dancing forests, alive with color, reminded me to breathe deeply. To open my eyes to the gifts of beauty, generosity, and magical light existing everywhere.

Reminding me to share my beautiful light with others.

To dance in harmony with others across all seasons. With all manner of support. Sometimes giving. Sometimes receiving. Always grateful for this generous exchange.

Peace be with you and with all. No exceptions.

HeartWarming

News

Urban forests are in danger. Losing an average of 36 million trees per year. A pilot program from the US Forest Service and Vermont’s spatial analysis lab created a sophisticated land cover mapping system overlaying tree data with city data. In Baltimore, temperature, crime, and use of heat or air conditioning reduced when the tree canopy increased! Monitoring the health of existing trees as a city investment and new plantings may help cities can recover urban forests, decrease energy use, and save millions of dollars.

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