Spirit of Tree

While on vacation in Nova Scotia last week, I saw the spirit of this tree come to greet me. Can you see it? Normally, we can't see spirit, we can only know that it is there because of the dynamic aspect of life, such as the growth and transformation that connects all life and makes each being what and who they are. The spirit of life is what Emily Carr painted, especially in the latter years of her painting career. We can't observe spirit directly, we can only get hints of it through things like movement, change, darkness and light, like Emily shows in Sombreness Sunlit. The spirit of life is the unobservable, but necessary aspect of all living beings. Spirit weaves together all that we can observe and all that we can't see, with our particular experience of life, to create meaning. For example, I saw the tree in this picture and recognized it as I do all trees, but only in an objective way. This is the learned activity of identification of things that we are taught as children. But each tree is not all other trees. The particular tree in this photo reveals spirit to me by showing itself to me in a way that no other tree has. Not only did this tree show me its dynamic spirit in order to share its own experience of connectedness to all life and its particular, innate meaningfulness, this tree reminds me that by our very existence all beings and all life communicate connectedness to the whole and unique, innate meaning. We have only to look, listen, be grateful, and love Life. I love being with trees!

A Year Later

It is hard to believe that a year has gone by since we were in India. The experiences are still so alive and a year has not been enough time to integrate the abundant gift that India is in my life. The people, the landscapes, the climate, the food, the smells, ..., the life. Yes, the LIFE! I am so grateful to my sisters for welcoming me into the richness, the diversity, the extremes, the complexities, the simplicity. You are forever in my heart.