Lessons from Trees

There’s a famous poem called Trees by Joyce Kilmer that has the opening lines:
      I think that I shall never see
      A poem lovely as a tree.

Joyce Kilmer wrote these inspiring words back in 1913 from his bedroom window as he looked out upon a splash of autumnal colours in rural New Jersey USA. In the poem, Joyce admits that he will never have the ability to live up to the splendour and majesty of creation and the power to make something as beautiful and wonderful as a tree is reserved for God. The poem finishes with the lines:  
      Poems are made by fools like me,
      But only God can make a tree.

Thank goodness for the “Poetry Fools” who open our eyes and enlarge our hearts to see and feel more deeply. They are the ones who summon our spirits to soar and sing. Another poet, Jane Hirshfield wrote in her stunning poem about the death of a tree, “Today, for some, a universe will vanish,” whilst William Blake observed in his writings that how we see a tree is how we see the world, and in the act of seeing we reveal what we are. “The tree which moves some to tears of joy is, in the eyes of others, only a green thing which stands in the way,” he wrote. “As a person is, so he or she sees.”

All of these words and reflections are helpful as we mark National Tree Day, an annual celebration which is held in the last week of July. It is a time to stop, celebrate and consider that if a single tree is home to a miniature universe of life, and is a thing of beauty that is integral to Earth’s survival, what does it reveal about our character, as a planetary people and as a civilization — to watch the world’s forests vanish in flames before our eyes, in wildfires so ferocious as to be visible from space and for millions and millions of bushlands and trees to be cut down daily? How does all of this careless and wanton destruction harm our relationship with our neighbour and our Creator God? And how might we respond? 

Maybe we can go back to the “Poetry Fools” for inspiration… The wonderful Mary Oliver speaks of “walking slowly and bowing often” when she is among trees. She describes a stance of humility and gratitude. One such place that evokes this stance is Muir Woods California (see the photo above) where one is compelled to “walk slowly and bow often” amidst the majesty and grandeur of God’s creativity displayed in the Redwood trees. Here in Australia, we are surrounded by exquisite beauty in our National Parks and bush trails all inviting us to pause in awe and wonder. Perhaps this might be a good starting point for us all. 

In my life, how can I “walk slowly” with humility and gratitude, “bowing often” being attentive to the wonder and miracle of trees?