Years ago, a friend suggested I establish a relationship with a tree. I said, “Why not.” A passage from an Einstein quote came to mind, “…free ourselves… by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
A tree outside my dining room window often grabs my attention. Why this tree that’s planted in the median of a busy street?
Rooted in the earth, trees foster a sense of place. This tree represented a connection between heaven and earth, something bigger than myself.
Every morning I open my blinds and peer down at her from my second-floor window. I call her Clare. She stands steady in the middle of the street as traffic floods her with kinetic energy. I breathe the air my arboreal neighbor exhales, as she supports neighboring trees with nutrients.
Other than myself, the only people that visit Clare on the cement island are city maintenance workers that trim surrounding grasses and bushes.
A New Zealand Xmas tree, she often waves her wishbone limbs. A couple times a year, this sprawling evergreen with oval leathery foliage shares splashy cheer, producing masses of spikey red flowers.
French philosopher Gaston Bachelard wrote a lovely line, “The Earth seeks to be admired by you.” I cultivate the relationship with a daily greeting and gratitude.
Clare provides beauty, absorbs carbon, buffers noise and decreases temperatures. The towering presence of my neighbor gracefully reminds me that a tree has the ability to provide an essential of life for all living things on our planet– oxygen.
