Trees

I often wonder how aware many of us are of our surroundings - especially when those surroundings are ones that we pass every day. I think the Buddhists would want to say to us that we need to be really mindful as we walk to wherever we are going. Do we feel the ground under us? do we see the faces of the people we pass? do we notice the gardens with their flowers and their weeds? Or are we just looking at our phone or head - down rushing to work or to an appointment or ... 

You might wonder where this is leading. Lately I have been noticing trees. Do you? Those of us who live in cities maybe don't see trees but I would guess that if you look around, you will see they are there. In a city like Toronto we are, I think, very fortunate. We have many beautiful parks and lots of trees along the sidewalks. We need trees. We need them both for the survival of our breathable air and also for their beauty.

  It also strikes me that trees have a kind of metaphorical 'value'. We can see for instance, in the life cycle of its leaves something of our own: fresh tender leaves in Spring; hardened, darkened slightly nibbled leaves in summer; dying leaves in autumn and dead leaves in winter. 

 

 
Then there are the trees that are deeply rooted and can survive almost any storm or drought and the trees that are more fragile which will suffer and perhaps die if they don't receive special care.

You can no doubt think of other ways that trees teach us. They also of course, protect us.

So, I reckon we need to protect them.

Have a lovely week.