Exhausted, discouraged, and stressed, I turned to the forest all aglow in morning light, and the tall trees drew me into their golden hearts.
A few weeks ago, my husband and I stepped back from our daily life and all the turmoil in the country and world. For a few days, we stayed in a small cabin deep in the Appalachian Mountains and hiked the forests that surrounded us. I didn’t know how much discouragement and anxiety I carried until I began to shed it. I didn’t know how tired I was until the rhythm of my days slowed down, and I breathed easily again.
Far from the conflicts of a world threatened by civil unrest amid a flourishing pandemic, I focused on watching deer outside the window. Each day we walked leaf littered mountain trails, while, above us, the giants of the forest accepted our presence with quiet serenity. By the edge of a mountain pool, I lay back on the grass and stared through gilded branches into a blue sky. I wondered, how could I have forgotten such soul-restoring stillness?
I needed the trees. Walking a forest path was like walking into a cathedral, breath-taking and quieting, bringing me to tears with its beauty. I was inside a space that opened me to God. I walked down a leafy aisle, I climbed up the steep slope on sprawled root steps, and the trees embraced me and filled me with peace.
I turned to the trees, burnished by autumn's palate, and they breathed on me. I leaned to their silent embrace, comforted by deep rooted strength. I turned to the trees whose boughs, bending down, brushed me softly with falling leaves, and I was quieted by their feather light touch. I turned to the trees, and far above me I heard a slow deep murmur, "Welcome home, child. We are still here. Come, and rest among us."
Hanging out with trees brings me other gifts as well. The long arc of tree life reminds me that trees measure time by centuries. Absorbing the deep-rooted, long wisdom of trees, I wake to hopeful possibilities behind my own ephemeral lifetime. When I recall tree time, I can live for a future that I will never see.
Like a tree whose living nurtures other life, whose dying feeds future blossoming, may my presence in God’s world nurture its healing. May my spirit be rooted in the Divine Spirit and contribute to a future where people offer the wisdom and peace of the trees — to each other. The Psalmist writes of such people: “they are like trees planted by streams of water which yield fruit in its season.” (Ps. 1:3) May we indeed bring forth such fruit!
My husband and I have returned home to our usual daily lives and responsibilities. Around us, the furious tumult of the world goes on. But the healing wisdom and quiet strength of the trees remain with me. I cherish hope again. I look ahead, and live for the lives of the children of my grandchildren — who may turn to the identical trees I turned to. And the trees will gift them, too, with peace and renewal.
Outside my window, a profusion of colorful leaves spreads across the grass. Even as the pine tree that stretches above my house retains its green, the maples surrounding it are preparing to release their last gold and red into the light wind. Shimmering in the sun, the leaves will float silently down to join the carpet below. The season is turning, and the skeleton of the maples is revealed in all its elegance and strength.
When wind-whipped, raucous storms buffet our lives, when fault lines crack ever deeper in our world, I turn to the trees for healing, to the comforting patience of the forest, to the long-lived continuity of trees. I trust the passing seasons again; my soul is restored.
Thank you Nancy! I experienced vicarious relaxation as I read your description of the falling away of anxieties as well as spiritual connection among the trees.
Dear Peggy,
I am so glad you felt your own relaxation as you read this meditation. Trees are some of the best spiritual teachers I find. Nancy
Nancy,
I’ve read your poem several times and each time feel uplifted by the words and the photographs. This morning I woke to the Spirit of Trees sonata played on Classical Coffeehouse and as I listened to this meditative piece featuring harp and guitar I thought of your poem. It would be a good one to memorize.
Dear MaryAnn, It was good to hear how my poem Restoration spoke to you. And I’m glad you appreciated the photos – I’ll pass that on to my husband! I will find the Spirit of Trees sonata. It sounds as though that would be good for my spirit when I can’t literally go the forest. Nancy
I enjoyed your piece Nancy. The outdoors is my house of worship. The seasons are its rooms. My favorite room is winter. My appreciation for this space developed as I grew in upstate NY. The bare trees along the fields watched over me. Their bare limbs caught the constant snowfall providing soft ledges for the blue jays. Squirrel nests were exposed. The outlines in the low light provided my imagination opportunity to create . The room was still. Its air crisp. I often lingered in the room to enjoy its beauty.
Kim
What a wonderful description of the your unique outdoors as a space of worship! Thank you for sharing it.
Nancy