What are the trees saying to you?
/
Consider this poem by Mary Oliver.
WHEN I AM AMONG THE TREES
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”
When days are uncertain, and you notice emotions, tension, patterns, and thoughts, try going out for a walk, and consider what that Voice within wants you to hear.
If it doesn’t sound like love; if it doesn’t have the quality of gentleness; if it doesn’t invite some self-compassion; then it isn’t a voice worth listening to. For many, the loving voice is the voice of God…and sometimes it speaks through the trees.
