“If a tree falls in the forest there are other trees listening.” ~ Peter Wohlleben
How many times have you asked or been asked: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"
It turns out that the other trees are listening.
The intention of this day's touchstone is to see if we can perceive trees differently little by little beginning today and to tap into the reverence and awe that is in us.
I'm reading The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. A walk through a forest will never be the same for me after reading this book. I'm sharing a few quotes to give you a sense of what I mean.
From the book:
"There is a burst of careful scientific research occurring worldwide that is uncovering all manner of ways that trees communicate with each other above and below ground.
"We have learned that mother trees recognize and talk with their kin, shaping future generations.
“It seems trees need their rest just as much as we do, and sleep deprivation is as detrimental to trees as it is to us.
“The trees in a forest care for each other, sometimes even going so far as to nourish the stump of a felled tree for centuries after it was cut down by feeding it sugars and other nutrients, and so keeping it alive.
“One of the oldest trees on Earth, a spruce in Sweden, is more than 9,500 years old.
"The wood wide web has been mapped, traced, monitored, and coaxed to reveal the beautiful structures and finely adapted languages of the forest network.
"These discoveries have transformed our understanding of trees from competitive crusaders of the self to members of a connected, relating, communicating system."
Today, let's appreciate the wonder of tree, of nature, and of ourselves and treat all life with respect and love.
Feeling amazed and joyful,
Charlene
THE SIXTH GIFT IS JOY: May it keep your heart open and filled with light. - from The Twelve Gifts of Birth
