A Circle of Trees - Reaching Up, Digging Deep.

Sunday Post, Poetry, Songs and Such

Yesterday I was walking along a creek bed that has carved its way along the valley where I live. It is a lovely waterway that rushes high and fast in the springtime and slows to a muddy trickle in high summer. Canopied by trees and tucked down into the holler it is cooler there in the dog days of the year when the temperatures rise and the air is so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. The creek bed is strewn with slabs of shale and thousands of geodes pulled from the banks when the waters are high. From the creek there is a system of winding deer trails that lead back to the ridge line. They are not easy paths and I use hiking poles to help steady myself for the climb. At the top of one trail there is a grove of maple trees that have grown into the shape of a perfect circle. These trees have an amazing communal presence, and I love to stand or sit cross-legged or lay on my back in the center of the grove and look up, watching the highest branches wave and touch one another with intimacy and tenderness. This grouping must have first sprouted over one hundred years ago. How they all began to grow during the same season, perhaps from the same parent tree, and configured themselves in this unusual perfect circle is a perfect mystery. Some days they feel likes sisters holding hands in the dappled air, on the most still days they are monks standing in silent prayer while the light streams down in dusty beams, on windy days they are willowy untamed fairies dancing with wild abandon. When I step back out of the circle and look at the group I notice how all the trees grew straight and tall, rising into the canopy together. Each tree leaning slightly outward as it grew, not far enough to become unbalanced, but just enough to allow the entire group to grow without crowding one another for the sun’s nourishing light. I can imagine how below the ground their root systems are completely entwined, sharing the nutrients and sugars that sustain the collective. They persevere together when the most dangerous storms come and go, their entangled root systems create a stronger foundation of support, and the presence of others buffets each individual from the full force of the wind.

There is something beautiful in how this collective allowed each tree to grow upward by expressing itself as a unique personality, each tree leaning a little to the left or right as it reached upward inch by inch. And yet, it is also beautiful how the outer expression of each tree is connected to the inner resources and strength of the community. There had to have been negotiations— one root giving way to another, one branch claiming its need for some space, hundreds of bright colored leaves drifting down to rest together on the ground, building the fertile ground year by year by year.

In America, we live in a culture that lifts up the idea of the rugged individual. Many of us were taught it was unseemly or a sign of weakness to ask for help or admit to our own struggles. A strong and capable person “should” be an island of strength and resources. It is an odd assumption and one that goes against all the literal and metaphorical examples in the natural world, that posits that it is better to be a single tree planted on a lone sidewalk taking in all the light it can for itself. But by nature a tree standing alone is more vulnerable to the winds and storms that rush down the blind canyons of city streets. A tree in a park setting is more stable. A tree in a grove amid acres of healthy forest is more stable still.

Our culture (and the individuals within it) suffer for this attitude of separateness. We feel the need to apologize for being a human being on a human journey instead of celebrating the fact that we are all trees standing within the circle, beautifully unique and blessedly connected. We are a gathering of spirits, a circle of sister trees holding hands, we are a strong reliable center when gale force winds came through, we are a community of monks standing in silent prayer and we are wild grateful creatures dancing for joy when good news comes. We are more able to reach up toward the light when we remember that there in our root system we can still access our most beautiful and shared values.

I am always so touched when I read accounts of neighbors and strangers working together when a natural disaster happens. “It was a flood. I had a boat. And so I went to help because it was the right thing to do. No, I didn’t ask what political party before I offered a hand.” I think there are many of us who are ready to step away from a politics that lifts up the kind of bullying, disdain for difference and plain old meanness we would never teach our children. We see that circle of trees and sense “yes, that is how it works.”

There is something holy always present in the center of that circle. I am grateful to have moments when I can rest in that grove of trees and remember.

And ok….. let us not forget as the value and worth of women’s lives and gifts are currently being diminished daily, that within that circle of trees, half of us are women.

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Practice

Sit in silence for a moment. Breathe deeply for a few lovely breaths. Envision the strong root system of a forest, deep beneath the earth, alive and interconnected. Sense the sacredness of each individual trees and the strength in the gathered community. be grateful for the layers of good soil being replenished each year leaf by leaf. The meditative breath is - in breath “Each tree a blessing.” Out breath, “The roots connected. “

Question

What did this story of the circle of trees bring up for you? How might this Gathering of Spirits community be a circle of trees? Are there times when you find it easier to remember our connected root system? Are there times that you find it more challenging?

(Please feel free to respond to one another - and I’ll be there in the circle too of course!)

A Poem - To Be Like A Tree

“To Be Like A Tree”

See how the trees
Reach up and outward
As if their entire existence
Were an elegant gesture of prayer.
See how they welcome the breath of spirit,
In all its visible and invisible forms.
See how the roots reach downward and out,
Embracing the physical,
The body and bones
Of its soul of earth and stone,
Allowing half its life to be sheltered
in the most quiet and secret places.

Oh, if I could be more like a tree on this Sunday morning,
To feel the breath of invisible spirit
Touch me as tenderly as a kiss on the forehead.
If I could courageously and confidently
Dig down into the dark
Where the ground water runs deep,
Where shelter and sanctuary
Can be had and held.

Ah, to be like a tree
With all its bent and unbent places,
A whole and holy thing
From its topmost twigs
To the deepest taproot
To all the good and graceful
Spaces between.

by Carrie Newcomer From The Beautiful Not Yet: Poems, Essays & Lyrics

A Song - There is a Tree

I have a song on my album The Geography of Light called “There is a Tree.” It was thinking about the image of The World Tree, a concept that threads across many folktales, myths and spiritual traditions. The world tree is represented as an enormous tree which supports the heavens and connects the heavens, the earthly world, and, through its roots connect to the mysteries below. It has often been associated with the idea of The Tree of Life which is also an image that threads through many wisdom traditions.

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One Inch Photos

a circle of trees & one inch photos

Another Circle of Trees… Reader, Voter, Ready

Reader. Voter. Ready. The ALA’s Informed Voter Initiative

The ALA has created a wonderful website for free and trustworthy voter information. You can search for registration information state by state ! A big thank you to the ALA, supporting our public libraries and free access to books, information and other community resources! Here’s the Link.

Pass this along to everyone you think would like to have this great resource for well organized, trustworthy state by state voter registration, ballot and time-line information!

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Podcasts This Week

This May I sat down with Meena …. for a conversation for her Eavesdrop With Meena®️Podcast. I love how she describes herself and podcast “is a global peoples podcast celebrating talent diversity from around the world. Meena is a highly curated, ethically sourced modern nomad from India, East Africa, United Kingdom, and United States on a global eavesdrop mission.” Hope you’ll tune in!

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Tour Calendar

For details and how to get tickets visit my website tour page at www.carrienewcomer.com/tour

I am so excited to announce that my upcoming concert,

A Gathering of Spirits – Hope in Hard Times. Presented by Bloomington Roots

Join pianist Gary Walters, The Gathering of Spirits String Quartet, and I for an intimate and uplifting evening of musical storytelling, humor, and poetry that explore themes of connection, spirituality, the natural world and the human possibility. I hope this special night will leave you feeling encouraged and reminded of what is both gritty and beautiful in humanity.

Special guest musician and opener will be Jason Wilber, songwriter, recording artist, and 24-year music director/guitarist for the legendary singer-songwriter John Prine.

Here’s the Link for tickets. They are going fast so get your ticket soon!

Portion of profits donated to Social Justice Work of UU Church of Bloomington

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