Dedication to the trees

The tree is one of the most powerful, complex and popular symbols in human history and culture , and it came to represent a variety of things. Strength, wisdom, balance, protection, growth. Tree of Life, World tree, Cosmic tree, Tree of knowledge of good and evil. There is a lot to unpack here, as this is indeed a multifaceted and complex archetype, but in this article I will focus on the aspects I personally find the most interesting, as well as the most applicable in my own life.

The tree has an uncanny ability to unite two seeming opposites, and as a result to heal the schism very much prevalent in our society. Namely, the split between the physical and spiritual aspects of reality, and a subsequent perception of the two as completely separate realms that aren’t interconnected at all times.

More often than not, a modern human tends to sway towards one of the following polarities in his worldview. He is either a materialist and only perceives the physical, tangible world as real; relying on science 100%, and denying the rest due to the lack of evidence. Or in case of the other extreme, a person can become so spiritually minded, that he disconnects from the physicality and their body, dabbling in asceticism, seeing sensual pleasures as ‘less than’, denying the importance of money and seeing it as a root of all evil, and engaging in other similar distortions.

Of course, none of those modes are healthy nor balanced, and whenever I start to perceive a contradiction between the matter and spirit, I remind myself about the symbol of a tree. It is fully grounded in the physical with its roots going deep into the Earth, yet its branches are stretching high into the Sky. There is no contradiction, just different levels and expressions of the same, working in harmony at all times.

We oftentimes forget this, but humans wouldn’t be able to survive without the trees being present on the planet for a simple reason or them purifying the air we breathe. Places like the Amazon forest are called ‘the lungs of the planet’ , and I find it fascinating that trees literally mirror our process when it comes to breathing. While we inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, they do the exact opposite, absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere and then releasing oxygen back into it, which allows our species to continue breathing and living. This is definitely something we take for granted most of the time, not acknowledging the sacred connection that is clearly shared between humans and trees.

Another amazing thing about the trees, is that they have incredibly long lifespans, with some of them living over 4000 years. And the more a tree matures, the more strength, power and mystery it exudes. We are more likely to be in awe of an oak that is a thousand years old, than of a young one.

Now let’s consider how different are the attitudes towards the ageing in the human society. Weakness, disease, loss of cognitive abilities, unattractiveness. A whole book can be written about ageism and its toxic beliefs. We are programmed to associate the old age with the decline, loss of health and fulfilment, fear of death etc. And whenever there is a conversation about slowing down the time, aka ageing slower, it is mainly focused on the retaining of the physical appearance of youth, with the help of various products and services, rather than on cultivating the essence of staying young - joy, curiosity, appetite for life, adventure and exploration. What sells when it comes to eternal youth is mainly the surface level - appearing to be something, as opposed to actually being it. The external intervention as opposed to an internal one.

Then there are attempts to manipulate the DNA in order to achieve a longer life, or even immortality. Seemingly this ideology is digging deeper, yet it is still not embracing the fact that the energy that connects all things on the subtle level is capable of so much more than the external attempts to manipulate the matter. Playing God in science can potentially lead to all kinds of disasters, since there is usually an excessive focus on the financial profit, and little curiosity about what is at play beyond the physicality.

How comes a tree doesn’t need to manipulate its DNA in order to live longer? Maybe that’s because it does not doubt its connection to the Divine, does not perceive the physical as separate from the spiritual, and does not conform to the mental limitations and fear of death. It just stands in its power, allowing the nutrition from all planes of existence to sustain it, not cutting off Nature and limiting itself to the realms of fear, control and manipulation, like it so often happens with human beings inevitably impacted by the modern infrastructures.

The last, but not the least; trees are actually ‘social creatures’ - they are connected to each other at all times by multiple networks (including the fungi in the soil), and they communicate and support one another by exchanging information and sharing the resources when needed. There is a lot of information online about these fascinating findings , and I believe it highlights something essential. The cooperation and support systems are crucial in order to thrive on this planet; yet despite all the technological progress, in many ways humans are more disconnected from each other than ever, and there are multiple reasons for this phenomenon, reasons that I shall explore in my future posts.

Meantime, it is obvious that we can learn a lot of valuable lessons from these majestic and mysterious creatures called trees. 🌳