Wow, this majestic over 200 year old Cottonwood Tree in Capitol Reef National Park wanted
to be seen! Laughing, I am in amazement because I was struggling just to place a copy in a document file so that I could upload this very photo into this blog. And she, beautiful tree, somehow just leaped onto the page! Thank you! The photo includes my dear friend Catherine Balka and myself. We had driven over to Capitol Reef from our campsite in the Pando Aspen Clone at Fishlake National Forest, Utah.
The photo below tells a different kind of a story. It, too, jumped onto the page when I tried to add the written blog. I obviously am not in charge of the order of placement!
REQUIEM FOR THE TREES
Traveling all over the country for many years has allowed me to witness what is happening environmentally. Last year and this one as well, the glaring evidence of severe drought is undeniable. The hardships that the trees are experiencing is epic. The trees are sick and dying, bent down, leaning in mortal poses. Beset upon by the austerity that is drought, by derechos, tornados, heavy snows, and, too much rain, under attack by beetles and tree diseases of all sorts, they are truly struggling. Not the least is their devastation by humans.
Can you imagine a world without the presence of trees?
Two years ago, I drove down the wooded lane to a family member’s home. I had been out of town for several months. My heart and soul went into shock. My eyes saw what was to be seen, but the disbelief I felt, oh my, the shock of the massacre, of the mutilated forest with both trees strewn about the woods and their stumps jagged from being torn apart. Who would do such a thing? This particular neighborhood is treasured for homes that are placed with care amongst the trees. I was later told that one family tore out all the many trees because they wanted sunshine and a manicured lawn. I am suppressing the epithets pushing to be expressed. Another neighbor thought, hmm, he could do the same thing. No manicured lawn, mind you. His property truly does look like the scene of a crime. The above photo is of the latter sorry occurrence.
This post is a call to each of us to love and respect the Trees. Shel Silverstein’s book, The Giving Tree, published in 1964 by HarperCollins, was prophetic. A children’s book, but not really, it is a message to all of us to appreciate what we have and not when it’s too late.
We need the trees. And yet we unthinkingly kill them, thereby destroying Creator’s ingenious method for recycling CO2 into nourishment for the trees and releasing oxygen into the environment for the benefit of most every living thing. Trees communicate with each another. They message and help their relations when organisms that are destructive to their lives appear. They sing songs that have actually been recorded! They provide shade from direct sun and the heat. They provide homes for a plethora of species. And, they are just plain beautiful! Trees hold Mother Earth together. When the trees are gone, deserts appear. Sand and dirt are blown asunder with no roots to hold them in place. The landscape becomes lunar. Like what has been happening in the Amazon.
I am inviting each of you to become tree huggers if you are not and to step up your loving of them if you are. Love, embrace, speak and sing to the trees on your property and wherever you travel. You will begin to be in relationship with these sentient presences. The love and wisdom they have to share is precious. Trust me, your world will open up in astounding ways.
Without the Trees, our way of life will perish.
If you are inclined, do log onto this beautiful @ 7 minute-long musical piece, “Fallen Trees”, released by Ukrainian composer-pianist Lubomyr Melnyk in 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4As0tY42SU.
While listening, visualize sending love and healing energy to trees that you have known and cherished. Send love to the Amazon Rainforest, to the Redwoods, to the Pando Aspen Clones of Fishlake National Forest, Utah. Send healing to the trees that have been burned during this summer season of extreme wildfires. The trees all over the planet are connected. Each one will appreciate the love you send out.
© Barbara J Woolley, Spiritual Messenger, Saturday, August 19, 2023
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