The Stillness Of Trees

 

I often look at trees. Some of the greatest ones I’ve seen are the grand Sequoias in the Pacific Northwest. But equally impressive are the ones in my backyard. And the ones that line the wayward country roads.

It is not necessarily their age. Or their flowering. Or their size.

It is their beautiful tendency to remain perfectly still. When a breeze tickles them, they slightly sway. And when it is quiet, they are as still as an image in a photograph.

They are intensely alive, these trees. They breathe and they feel, as we do. And I’ve often wondered why it is that they are so still. And what lesson I can learn from them.

As the sun rises above them, they are still. As the cold hardens their bark, they are still. Throughout the unspeakable darkness of night, they are still. And as the heavens drench them with rain, they are still.

What do they know that perhaps I do not?

What have they learned that I have yet to learn?

They have stood witness to wars. They have watched men die at their feet. They have acquiesced to the mischief of curious children. And supported the traveler in need of a rest.

Birds cover them in nests. Insects live in their trunks. Snakes rest on their branches. And squirrels race across their backs.

Yet they remain still.

They behave as if they were made to become a part of the landscape. They treat their life as it were not their own. They exist as if existing were the greatest form of activity.

I have always loved the idea of stillness. I practice it regularly. But when I see trees, it shows me just how much I have to learn. For I have yet to master this art that they have spent centuries perfecting.

I often ask my children to look at trees. We stop the car, pull to the side of the road and just . . . watch.

Just looking at a tree makes one still.

Even as I sit here now. My fingers type and my hands are pliant. But the rest of me sits and watches. For I am moved by these great giants.

They provide a profound sense of motivation.

For what reason do we have to be so bothered by our petty little lives. When these trees have been subject to all manner of abuse and disharmony. And their one single response to it all is simply to remain still.

What a beautiful lesson this is for all humanity.

Regardless of the circumstance. No matter the emotion. Be still.

Through this stillness we will feel what needs to be felt.

Through this stillness we catch a glimpse of all creation.

The trees must have caught this glimpse.

Perhaps this is why they are still.