"We never hear the sound
of the tree."
~ Jiddu Krishnamurti
There is so much that we never hear or see, or appreciate or understand. So much calls for wonder and awe.
This long touchstone
is a true story that holds wonder and awe. It's also a touchstone for reverence and a reminder to hope. What does it stir in you?
When I lived in Sedona, Arizona, my next-door neighbor and nature-loving
friend, Joanne, greatly appreciated the tree that stood in front of her townhouse. One day Joanne noticed spots on nearly all the leaves. Close inspection revealed that millions of tiny bugs had invaded her arboreal friend. She called the homeowners’ association to report the problem and asked that the tree be treated.
Joanne was horrified when, a few days later, she came home to find the tree being chopped down.
She regretted reporting the problem. “I should have sprayed it, tried some things myself, taken some other approach,” she repeated to herself and to all who would
listen.
Day after day, Joanne mourned her missing tree. Where there had been beauty and vibrant life, there was now a barrenness in front of her home – no singing birds, no swaying branches, no soothing shade, no musical rustling of leaves – just a circle of stones, like a grave marker,
around where the tree had stood.
Many months later, however, a shoot appeared from within that circle of empty red earth. Joanne thought it was a weed. “At least something green is growing there,” she said and let it be. Then another shoot appeared, and another. Soon, it looked like a
shrub. But in a year’s time, it was again a tree. For, although all that stood above the ground had been removed, the roots continued to live below ground. A new tree grew from the same roots.
Like the “Tree of Heaven” in Betty Smith’s novel, A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN, for both Joanne
and I, the return of her tree symbolizes the reverence, resilience, strength and hope that live in us all of us. `
Whatever challenges, changes, obstacles, and losses we face, let's not give up on life or its gifts.
Love,
Charlene
PS - When life hurts; when world
conditions baffle, shock, sadden, anger, or horrify me; when human beings disappoint me; I hold hope and touchstone memories like this one. I gain strength from my belief that miracles are everywhere and that we are all connected, one family meant to love one another. I try to picture all humanity, all creation, like a Tree, rooted in the Ground of All Love, All Life, All Being.
THE NINTH GIFT IS REVERENCE.
May you appreciate
the wonder that you are
and the miracle of all creation.
from The Twelve Gifts of Birth
