In this article Dan Davidi shows how helpful understandings and wisdoms are hidden inside the world around us. Using trees as the analogy, Dan explores the many insights that life shows us through the way trees live, grow and respond to the world around them. Catch the way of it and you can do this for yourself in many other areas of life, not just by focusing upon trees, but using other examples from the natural world around us.
How Trees Can Teach Us
It is said that reason is man-made and logic is higher intelligence-made and, so when reasoning is not supported by logic, it’s time to re-check the reasoning. It follows that if we want to understand this higher intelligence logic, it can be tracked by observing the construction of everything natural, rather than that which is made by the hand of humans. The saying: "As
above so below" comes to mind now. The construction of everything natural must then be marked by the symbol of this higher logic, thus becoming the primary instructor to the ways of our own lives. What does the tree assist us in understanding our own lives? We don’t have to be reliant on human thinking and research alone, but can look to see how nature, or life, has done it before us. It can lead to viewpoints that may be far more robust and integratable with life than what we come up with by human-rationale alone.
What follows is a journey into the wisdom and intelligence of trees that offers perception into the many ways of progressing our own spiritual journey. There are 26 facets, one for each letter of the alphabet.
An Exploration into The Wisdom of Trees
A - The tree’s growth is gradual, from a seed to roots, to a trunk, to branches, to twigs, to leaves, to fruit. Most times it takes years, and at times, many years for the tree to be fully grown. Creation doesn't make things grow in an instant. Some grow slowly, some faster, but it does take time for everything to grow. This obviously stands in contradiction to the current instant gratification needs of the human race today.
Gradual, organic growth, one step at a time where each step is a stepping stone to the next one, is the way. It is said, “Soon ripe, soon rotten” and that trueness reflects the same logic that guides the way. Build it gradually, build it strong, make and take the time it needs. Allow the full natural process to take place without attempting to artificially accelerate it. Ensure that each stage takes place, one building upon another, without any shortcuts. And, don’t bother getting upset when things grow too fast and then collapse, as it will allow you to rebuild on more solid ground.
B - The faster the tree grows, the shorter its life. Too fast or even instant forced growth can lead to instability, weakness and a short life span, be it a human life, a project, a business, whatever.
C - The deeper, the wider, the tighter, the thicker the root network is, the more weight the tree can carry and the taller and wider the trunk and the canopy can be. Again, the logic says to build strong foundations. To reach the sky, we must also go deep into the earth.
D - The root system grows parallel to the growth of the canopy. For the canopy to grow, the roots need to support it. However, for the roots to grow, the canopy needs to supply them with certain sun-originated nourishments, and sometimes, insects, mushrooms and all sorts of symbiotic lives. Generally in nature, a deep, widespread, and dense root system does not go hand in hand with a low and small canopy. In the human context, it instructs us to make sure that our fundamentals are rooted and engraved deeply enough to support a growth process in our higher levels, leading to fruits of all sorts. When healthy, they each inter-support one another and grow together. Just as the roots of the tree are shallow and wispy at the beginning and deep and thick later on, so is one’s foundation work. It will be superficial at first, but later, with continued investment it will refine and touch far greater realms, as it becomes more and more established.
E - Nature does not waste energy and it does not build a vast network of roots to support a small canopy. Thus it is a folly to seek a strong character and self-discipline without directing them externally at results that will bring good to something other than yourself. Strong character directed only at self can be sterile. Strong character directed at destroying others is like a tree that only produces fruits poisonous to all. You will notice that this doesn’t occur in this way in Nature. Instead, all fruits on this planet serve one species or another.
F - All the tree’s components are interconnected. They all feed each other and are dependent upon each other. In a multiplex life, such as that of human beings, to be in agreement with ourselves calls for peace and cooperation between our various components. No part is dominant upon others, all are interdependent. It is an in-tune, well-practiced orchestra in which each instrument knows its own part, yet it plays harmoniously, interconnected with the other instruments to produce celestial music.
G - The tree offers to its surroundings. It is part of a bigger ecology with a grander purpose. It offers other lives nourishment, shade, and protection from the burning sun and the heat of the day. It blocks the wind and creates privacy. It adds beauty and glory to the planetary setup. It breathes in carbon dioxide and breathes out oxygen in its contribution to a balanced and supporting ecology that sustains life, not only its own. Thus, do not live for yourself only. Life has purpose within it. We may offer shelter, safety and nourishment to the many unseen and seen lives. We may extend warmth, kindness, generosity to our brothers and sisters. We may seek, search, find, reveal, feel, become conscious of the world around us to offer back to our Creator. We may grow and refine to join that which is above us. Assist and be willing to be assisted. Take the example from the wonderful interconnected network of Nature around us. We are part of it, offering our fair share, and it extends itself to us, otherwise we become parasitic upon it, excluding ourselves from it all.
H - The tree is flexible in its construction. It bends when the wind comes and it survives. It doesn't have false pride. It doesn't fight the wind but rather goes with it. Thus, when life’s exigencies and nasty surprises come, have a healthy dose of humility. Do not fight them head on and break in the struggle. Accept them equitably. Move with them until they exhaust themselves and then step aside. Exploit them to collect experience and become wiser. Utilize them to develop character and strengthen your assembly. And be like the tree, which after the wind ceases blowing, becomes erect again. Wait it out and then continue proud with your life because you have survived a storm, strong and unbroken. It is not about what life dumps on us, it’s our attitude about it that counts.
I - The tree shows adjustability to the changing times. It is designed to endure the change of season, shedding its leaves to conserve energy when autumn comes, going inside itself away from the onsetting winter harshness. And come spring it grows new leaves, and in summer there are fresh fruits. Be like the tree. Modify yourself to the need of the time, not human-made time but Nature’s and the universe’s incoming time. Respond to it. Be with it. Expand or go inside yourself. Flare or shed. Grow or pause. Don't live a disconnected life, instead live a responding life.
J - Some trees stay green all year-round but some of their branches die, break, fall and new branches grow (the palm tree, for example). Even though the tree is always green, parts of it might brown, signaling the coming death of a branch. In a similar manner, have your life be energized and fresh and full even though some aspects of it might diminish and die. Don't be afraid of this natural process. Some lives in you might become more energized whilst other cease. All at the same time. Life is a constant change, change with it and be green always.
K - The tree lives both underground unseen and in the air in the seen. These aspects are both part of the tree, and yet dependent on each other. You have a physically based life in the seen and a spiritual life in the unseen. Your spiritual well-being depends on a healthy energetic body and your body’s well-being is dependent on your mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. Take care of them both. Don't neglect your higher realms in pursuit of the body's pleasures. Don't neglect your body in pursuit of mental stimulations, emotional satisfactions and spiritual purposes.
L - The tree’s life grows from coarse to fine. It has a crude looking root system covered with earth. It has a thick and rough-looking trunk tapering into less thick and finer looking branches narrowing into twigs, ending in delicious looking and fragrant fruits. You, too, have a thick trunk, attached to less thick arms and legs tapering into delicate fingers and toes. You, too, have a physical life that is the support system of your spiritual fruits that nourish so much around you. Have a constant refinement process going on in your life. Make sure to eventually have your life look like the tree’s, going from coarse to fine, from physical to electrical. Refine away from the crudest parts of your life, feeding what is delicate, gentle, nurturing.
M - The tree changes colors according to the seasons’ influence. Learn to change your own colors when the natural season calls for it.
N - Some trees never shed. They stay constant. Have some parts of your life be constant. Have some fundamentals, some principles, values, and disciplines that will keep you steady and internally intact no matter what time brings and what life changes.
O - When a tree doesn't have available water nearby, it will extend and deepen its root system. When truths are not nearby nor easily found, seek them out, make a deeper journey.
P - When the tree feels danger, such as a bug penetrating its trunk to eat it from inside, it releases a chemical which then informs the other trees in the forest that an imminent invasion is coming, which then causes them to release the same chemical to pass that message to more trees. This causes all of them to release another chemical that makes the trunk impenetrable to the bug. It teaches us to pass our learning to others, to cooperate for safety and for success, to prepare in advance for what is coming, to care for others, to find strength in unison, to live in Oneness as Creation wanted us to live.
Q - The tree can be wide or tall, small or large, use much water or very little, require much sun or little sun. It can live in areas that freeze each winter or singe in the heat of the tropics. They look different, they smell different, and they offer different fruits. They come in all shapes, smells, sizes and natures. The tree fulfills its purpose within the context of its ecology. The human, too, has a purpose and some of it is to do with his/her family ecology, nation’s ecology, religious ecology, planetary ecology and universal ecology. All humans have similar universal purposes yet different planetary contexts, targets and ecologies within which they function. Thus, respect your ecology because it gives reason and power to your purpose. Respect other people’s different expressions, targets, purposes and context as they grew up in different ecologies that need different expressions and support different outcomes. Remember, we all have purposes and when combined, these purposes give a united context for the human species. Thus, avoid class distinction, hatred of the stranger, judgment, racism. Just as different trees add beauty and glory to life, processing different essences, different people add to the whole, whether to this planet, this galaxy or the whole of Creation.
R - Trees need space in which to grow and for for all their needs to be fulfilled. Humans also need space. Make your own space for the fulfillment of your own needs so you can grow to support, nourish and also offer to others what they need.
S - Trees need the soil to have specific ingredients suitable for their growth. They need the temperature to be right for them. The amount of sun needs to be in the right range. Their ecology needs to be precise. Without all of these, the tree will not thrive. Humans are not trees and are not glued to one place. They can seek the ecological ingredients vital for them or make, accumulate, or nourish those ingredients to create an ecology promotive to that particular life. If you cannot find it, make it. Don't settle for less and don't compromise if you don't have to. You are the author of your own life and you can make a change. You don't have to be passive and resigned to what is not supporting you.
T - When the winds blow, the tree trunk responds with slight movement, the branches respond with larger movements and the smaller branches sway even more. In similar fashion, some parts of us need to stay solid and intact and some need to respond more fully with greater changes to be with what is coming. We have inner flexibility and sturdiness. Both have a place, each in its own time or carried out in unison.
U - Some trees will grow straight up, standing erect, 90 degrees to the land. Some will grow sideways and some completely bent. Likewise, the way you raise something and the ecology you offer it when it is small, will dictate its later condition when it matures. So start as you aim to finish and be very particular and precise about the ecology you offer something when it is small.
V – Did you know that if you want to feel the tree's inner being, you must slow down to its speed? It does not reveal itself at your usual fast, hot speed. Similarly, every life has its own speed and if you want an exchange with them, if you wish to feel them and be with them, you must adjust your inner speed.
W - The tree’s electrical life is typically all in itself and around it, extending into the electrical medium all around. Did you know that when a threat comes near, such as a human with a negative mindset, the tree's electrics shrink down into the trunk and in a severe need for safety, into the roots? Humans and all other lives behave the same. They shrink when feeling intimated, or at a physical risk, or risk of contamination. That natural response whispers to us to put our life in order and clean up our act if we wish to be with the Oneness. Life is all about a process of exchange between its various components. To be a player, we must make sure our radiation will attract and not cause repulsion and a divisive distance.
X - Some trees have fruits that can be processed by humans, some by bugs, some by birds and some by various animals. Some that can be eaten by one species are poisonous to other species. It is not the same for all. We too have fruits and some of them are food for some lives and poison to others. A direct approach can be a breath of fresh air to some people but damaging to others. We have to learn that all is not appropriate for all and to offer each life the remedy particular to it.
Y - Much water will kill some trees and will cause quicker growth in others. We have to learn to be accurate with ratios and quantities of ours and other's needs. A little may be effective and more might injure, weaken or kill. Learning to be acute in what we offer to ourselves and others is of utmost importance.
Z - Some trees grow fast to offer protection to others that grow slow and need the ecology of the fast-growing trees as a womb for their own growth. It can be the shade that the tree offers, or the shelter against the wind, or the insects it attracts that protects the other tree. The safety can be provided in its own non-aggressive and cooperative existence that prevents other trees, the more aggressive types, from blocking the slow-growing tree in its own growth. Be what it may, they all create an environment that allows new life to emerge. When the quick growing tree dies, in its death it provides space for the new tree to complete its growth. In a similar fashion, our life allows other lives to grow under our care and mature to fullness when we move aside to create space for them to flourish. Hence, we need to learn when to be there to allow the initial growth and when to step aside to allow that life to come into its own fullness.
As this writing demonstrates, everything around us can be a teacher, following Creation’s logic as it is demonstrated in its many manifestations, offering us clues as to what an aligned, developing human life is like.
Be open, learn and apply, and explore this way of thinking for yourself.
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