New Beginnings

This is an excerpt from the weekly News-Loveletter. If you would like it sent to your inbox directly (with all the other juicy bits, including a mini joy practice), you can add yourself to my mailing list here.

The ice storm broke the Mother Tree. That picture above does not do her size or presence justice. We all are less impressive lying down. My son and his friends could not believe the news when I told them. I could scarcely take it in myself when Seda shared. The Mother Tree had stood sentinel at the top of the grassy hill in our local park since before I was born.

Which gives you some idea of how we experience time. The Mother Tree has seen more than a few generations grow up. The children hauled their sleds to the edge of her roots and launch themselves down the snowy hill in winter. They played fetch with their dogs beneath her branches, picnicked with their families. Teenagers skipped school and “held class” beneath the canopy of her embrace, sometimes smoking weed or making out.

Several years ago, one whole branch, a third of the oak tree, snapped. My heart hurt for her. It’s been difficult to find comfort in that asymmetry. This, in itself, has been an opportunity to practice unconditional love and care. When I saw the rest of her lying on the ground last week, it seemed fitting. All of our parts will one day lie down, and until then, we learn to make peace with each part that goes to rest. I still felt the Mother Tree’s love with me.

To see her naked insides gives me pause. The Mother Tree did not tip to the ground with a majestic uprooting. Her massive trunk snapped in two places at ground level, the hollow cave of her belly falling open to the sun. Who knew that in all that shepherding of others across the years, her center had grown thin with rot? And yet, she ended it all when no one was around. So much care, even in her fall.

Change is ever-present, whether visible or not. What appears to be solid may crack tomorrow as the ice gathers. May we cherish the gifts of today with our whole hearts, bodies, and souls.