I have been musing on a topic that I would like to pursue here.  I was thinking about the gift of life; it is a gift which the trees offer to us unconditionally. They offer the gift of the oxygen we breath, the wood on which we rely, and the gift of presence. Their presence alone is a gift to any community, regardless of the environment.

It is not these gifts alone that have been the topic of my imaginations. There are so many but the following have been the ones on which I have been musing:

Trees offer us Beauty, a sense of company, the comfort of a witness, proof of the ever-abiding power of the life-force that will grow no matter what the circumstances (one can find a tree growing out of stone), stillness of being in the busy-ness of life, sturdiness in a storm, a reminder to choose flexibility when necessary, and a sense, that despite what we do, think, feel, we have in our midst a constant, loving presence.

It is their love that is what I am focusing on particularly today.  I notice that after a walk in the forest, I feel aligned, once more, in my central truth, that we are love. That in our core, in our highest truth, we are all love.  It is their deep knowing of this very truth that is reflected back to me when I visit the woods.

Daily life and stressful interactions tend to shake our faith and trust in ourselves, and in our truths.  Walking among the trees reminds me of mine. In their presence, I can root deeply in the knowing of my core.  In their loving presence, I am reminded of the love that surrounds me; I can say, "I am Loved."  And those words offer such comfort.

Now, when interactions threaten to overwhelm me, I repeat, "I am loved," over and over. Soon, I find I am calm.  It is a little like what I have heard of the monk Thich Nhat Hanh who with an in-breath says "I am," and on the out-breath, "Peace."

It comes to mind to say, that to lay in the arms of the trunk of a tree is to lie in abiding love that never moves, nor fails to offer support. I bless the trees for reminding me of the support that surrounds me, for reminding me to who I am and of my truth; they remind me that I Am my highest self, when I am rooted in the Love that I am.

When we, like trees, let the Love that we are flow, we begin to transform the structures of our world.