> I think about that property every time I see it and wonder if it's
somehow
> holy by virtue of cast prayers caught and leached into the earth
there. I
> wonder if it's crazy for a person to think that a tree could be a
friend or
> a savior.
I have the greatest awe and respect for trees. Big trees. Old trees.
Living things capable of staying alive many times our life spans.
In The Color Purple when Shug is explaining her concept of God to
Celie she tells her to look at how trees do everything they can to get
our attention. I fully believe that. I have been known to talk to
trees from time to time and I believe they respond to me. Maybe it's
the pagan in my soul (could I have been a Druid in a past life?)
I've been through the Redwoods in Northern California several times.
Those forests have an aura of mystery about them that is palpable to
me. I can imagine mythological creatures & beings roaming through
those trees. Not to mention all the wildlife & humans souls that have
walked there over the centuries.
Two years ago Travis & I visited Sequoia National Park in the eastern
part of California. Part of that experience is colored by the memory
of being in pain from having thrown my back out a few days before, but
I still came away with a tremendous sense of awe and humility. The
General Sherman tree is the largest known living thing on the planet
and it has seen many centuries come & go. Corny as it sounds, it
really makes me feel small & insignificant. As Grace Slick once said
(as only Grace would or could), 'say it plainly the human name doesn't
mean shit to a tree.'
So no, I would certainly say that it is *not* crazy to say that a tree
can be a friend or a savior. There are many trees that have
considered to be friends in my lifetime. I'm sure there are many of
you who will snicker when you read this post and to you I say, go look
at a stand of trees and consider everything they do for us. They
provide shade from the hot sun, shelter from rain, lumber for our
buildings, food, even the air we breathe. And it's also highly likely
that most of them will still be here long after you are gone.
Shug's point was that God, just like the trees, does everything it can
(to Shug, God is not a he or a she) to be noticed and loved. 'It just
wants to be loved.'
Mark in Seattle who hopes you all will pardon this little bit of
musing & rambling.
