The Magic of Trees

By Therese Dorer

This spring I had the opportunity to visit England, Stonehenge, Glastonbury, the Thor amazing cathedrals, and the ancient giants of England, the trees. Of all of the man made sites to behold in this ancient land of England the trees spoke to me in a way I never imagined. They are huge, and I was were blessed to see a tree that was 2000 years old, an ancient Yew tree growing in a church yard in Brocken Hurst.

Standing beneath these giants of the Mother Earth I felt as if they had stories and messages to tell me if I only took the time to listen.

Being away from my regular life gave me more time for meditation, and the opportunity to sit among these giant beings. I realized the Mother Earth offers us magic to discover every day and in seeking this we can allow her energy to feed us in the most profound way.

I began to consider that the Mother Earth creates a circle of life, we are given an opportunity to learn from her every morning when we awake, a new circle is beginning, and we are standing in the center of this circle.

Spending time with the trees made me consider the cycle of the trees and what how those cycles can teach us about life.

In the Winter the tree stands tall and appears to be barren, she has no leaves upon her branches, and stands dark against the chill of winter, waiting patiently for the earth to warm up her roots and begin the life force of the sap to flow through her trunk up to the branches.

Each of us may have gone through our own dark night of the soul, huge transformations, such as divorce, death of a loved one, illness, these life experiences are the Winter of our lives and seem to be dark and barren.

In the Spring, the tree begins slowly to bud, new shoots, leaves and flowers come forth, as the tree brings forth her beauty.

When we allow new hope to come to our heart, embrace a new passion, forgive an old hurt, trust in our wisdom, we are allowing the Spring to come into our being.

In Summer the trees are in the fullness of beauty, the leaves are green and lush; they whisper in the wind and create shade, respite for animals and humans, from the hot summer sun, they are generous with their shade and sustenance for the creatures of the earth.

In the Summer our life, when we are on track we are able to help a friend, be a confidante, and spend quality time with our families. We feel so full of love and the life force we are able to be generous with this energy of love.

In Autumn the trees again go through transformation their leaves turn brilliant colors, and then fall quietly on the ground to be mulched into fertilizer for the next season. The circle is complete and Mother Earth has worked her wonder.

The Autumn of our life may come when we must let go of a situation, change our career, move forward, or die to the old way of engaging in life allowing for new birth, and creating fertile ground for new growth to occur.

This simple story of the life of a tree can remind us how Mother Earth always creates circles; and the understanding that our life is a circle.

With Autumn 2010 unfolding around us I invite you to take some time to walk among the trees here in our Thompson valley, listen to  the whispers of the Aspen,  breath deeply the pungent smell of the Pines, and delight in the colours that are unfolding around for you, as the trees go into a new cycle. Notice where you are in the circle of your life, and trust that you will find wonder and wisdom from your life experiences.