The Wisdom of Trees
Fall colors in the Kachinas 💙
This past weekend found me in the Kachina wilderness of northern Arizona, on a beautiful fall hike. The changing colors were popping and I couldn’t help but be captivated by my favorite tree – the aspen.
Aspens are pretty badass. Here are a few fun facts for your inner dendrologist:
If you’ve ever been in a grove of aspens, they might all be one tree because of a shared root system
Their bark AND leaves perform photosynthesis – the conversion of sun into “tree food” – a process normally only executed in leaves
Populus tremula and populus tremuloides, the two species of Aspen that populate Eurasia and North America respectively, have the widest distribution of all tree species anywhere!
Right now they are particularly beautiful in preparation for winter. This totem of seasonality got me thinking: What can we learn from the wisdom of trees?
Well, it’s obvious that trees, like the rest of nature, are in harmony with seasons.
Spring? Time for growing taller. Deciduous trees sprout leaves. Some blossom flowers. Evergreens chill and stay green.
Summer? Keep on growin’! Do you like apples? Cherries? Figs? Thank summer.
Come fall, it’s about time for resting after all that work in the first half of the year. Hell, it’s too cold in winter to waste energy growing and making fruit!
I don’t know about you, but historically I’ve been pretty resistant to the idea of seasonality in my own life. In my 20’s, I demanded performance from my body year round, refusing to allow appropriate time for rest or healing; I wanted to climb all the time… Which manifested in a laundry list of musculoskeletal injuries – a pretty sordid resume item.
At 31, I’ve finally learned to start listening to my body and my inner wisdom. My ears perk up when my wrist is whispering a complaint, or when I feel exhausted and my eyelids are heavy (time for a nap).
Boredom, irritability, lethargy, and urges for junk food are my harbingers of depression. Compassion, patience, incisive thinking, productivity and a ready smile signal my needs are being met.
Could I continue toiling at my computer? Certainly.
Tape my weary joints, pound an energy drink and keep extreme-sporting? The internet would certainly approve.
But at what cost?
We don’t have to follow the cadence of the weather’s seasons in lockstep, but maybe we can tune our mental antennae to recognize when we’re unstable, ungrounded, or otherwise un-something.
Consider embracing times of bounty and times of fallow. It may just leave you healthier, more durable, and dare I say it… Happier?