I had the chance to visit the outskirts of Philadelphia at the end of August. I did not anticipate the collective and individual grandeur of the ancient trees there. The city has history and the trees remember. I also did not know that there was a well maintained arboretum. When looking for places to visit, the first thing that JUMPED off the page to my eyes were the words "Morris Arboretum." So I listened to the nudge and made plans for a visit. After three hours, I sat on a park bench blissfully content. I was awed by the size and majesty of the trees: pure heaven.
It is hard to convey in words the grandeur of something that one experiences in spirit, sensation and emotion. Here in the blog, I attempt to do that, and still, I am fearful of failure with this place. Sitting with the elders in this forest garden gave one a sense of wonder and awe. Ken Carey in Flat Rock Journal, suggests that a forest is not a forest (I paraphrase) until it has elders.... I imagine that the whole city of trees benefits from the Presence of the Elders in the Morris Arboretum; I envision it as a network system of interweaving, interwebbing support to every street and back yard tree in the city.
Where I live in the Northeast, where storms and other extreme weather affect the size of our trees, a Hop Hornbeam that may be 100 years old will be less than a foot in diameter. In the Morris Arboretum many of the trees were well over 2 feet in diameter. Some were several feet wide. To be in their presence was as a benediction.
Regarding the specific trees: The White Ashes - magnificent. Buckeye, Black tupelo, Tulip tree (which I love to call by its latin name: Liriodendron Tulipifera) were easily 3 feet in diameter. There are also non-native beauties: Dawn Redwood, also with a beautiful latin name (Metasequoia), Bald Cypress, and an amazing Katsura tree that the traveling family brought back from southeast Asia in the early 1900s. I will include a picture of this tree, though definitely NON-native:
It is interesting to note that the connection to this tree came as the purity of its beauty and love, not words.
There were trees that spoke. And I feel the need to pass on the message that one particular tree gave to me although this one was on a country club side street. It's message came to me as a surprise. I Am finding that one must never assume Where one will find the most important message, messenger, or friend. Stay open to Possibility and surprise, that is the gift.
This is how this particular gift came: when in the city I felt the urge/yearning often to walk under the tall elder trees. I noticed that when I did so, I would feel noticeably and immeasurably more refreshed. I was not clear as to why until one time at dusk, as I approached one magnificent Ash, I decided to stop just at the edge of its large canopy of leaves. I looked up into the growing dark and felt admiration. Soon, I heard words in my head. I was surprised by them and found myself questioning myself as I don't usually hear so clearly, nor from a casual walk in a city. So I was unsure.
It seems that the magnificent Ash tree was informing me to trust in their (the trees') support. But not only me, but all of us are invited to trust in their universal support to listen to our hearts, to listen to the messages of our inner guidance. The words were: Trust in our universal support for light workers with transportational messages.
I share this with you, not knowing how to fully understand this message. I did note that my energy was once again refreshed, rebooted, reset to return to human interaction.
May this message give you the same lightness.