Act Like A Tree - Reflection

A long anticipated road trip taken by Matthew & Chantal, ended with meeting an ancient tree. This resulted in some reflection about trees and how they are. In this reflective piece that accompanies the meditation of the same name, Chantal Dawtrey tells the story behind the realisations and the inspiration for the meditation.

Transcript

Act like a tree,

A reflection.

Trees by Joyce Kilner I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree,

A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed against the sweet earth's flowing breast,

A tree that looks at God all day and lifts her leafy arms to pray,

A tree that may in summer wear a nest of robins in her hair,

A pond whose bosom snow has lain,

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

In May 2021 we went on a road trip.

This was the first trip of any significance for us since the year before in March 2020 when lockdown started in South Africa.

We had originally planned to take this trip in January of 2021.

In our part of the world everybody takes their holidays,

What you may call vacations,

During December and the beginning of January.

This is our summer.

Schools are on a long break,

Construction and manufacturing industries close and families use this opportunity to flock to the coast,

Mountains and bush for the festive season.

We,

On the other hand,

Choose to wait until after the silly season to go away.

The weather is still great and the crowds have dissipated.

We don't have to fight for parking or stand in queues for anything.

I mean,

Why go away on holiday only to be faced with the very things you are trying to get away from?

In December 2020,

However,

There had been a surge in Covid infections and the government decided to re-institute tougher lockdown measures.

These included not being allowed on beaches,

Ban on the sale and transport of alcohol,

Stricter curfews and limitations on social gatherings.

Our trip was to the coast.

Who wants to go to the coast and not be allowed on the beach?

No sundowners,

Potentially being constrained to a tiny space away from the comfort of home and amenities.

So we decided to postpone it.

The Airbnb hosts were all very understanding.

They repaid our deposits and wished us well.

These are people whose very livelihoods depend on tourism,

Particularly international tourism,

Which had been decimated over the previous year.

We were determined to use them when we were able to travel more freely and we did.

Taking some time away from the familiar spaces,

Places and people,

No matter how loved,

Offers an opportunity for perspective,

Reflection and renewal.

It can get very same old,

Same old when you wake up at the same time every day and have an all too familiar routine,

Visit the same coffee spots and eating houses,

Engage with the same people and stare at the same screen every day.

And so our road trip was re-booked and look forward to with much anticipation and excitement.

When we travel,

We rarely just go away.

We don't rush to another place,

Plonk ourselves down and vegetate in the sun,

Eating too much or engaging in activities just to keep busy.

We prefer to consciously immerse ourselves in the trip and then to intentionally reflect on our experiences,

On what we learnt and what impact the time away had on us.

How often have you gone away for a well deserved break and found that after a few days back you feel like it hardly even happened?

Being back at the grindstone,

Back in the relentlessness of life,

The break can quickly feel like a distant dream.

This break,

However,

Was not like that for us.

We felt rejuvenated with the memories fresh for many weeks after.

We did take it slow and I do think that helped.

Our ultimate destination is what is known as the Garden Route,

1,

184 kilometres or 735 miles from Johannesburg where we live.

Slow travel,

Like slow food,

Takes time but is all the more enjoyed for its flavoursome and full bodied experience.

Rather than the hurry up and wait at airports,

Squashed airless seats and unfriendly neighbours,

A road trip over a few days allowed us to sink our teeth into the places and spaces we travelled through and to.

It allowed us to notice the textures of the landscape,

The movement of the sun.

It allowed us to practice greeting in several languages,

Laughing at our clumsy tongues,

Tripping over unfamiliar sounds and syllables.

Our first stopover was in Bloemfontein in the Free State.

We then visited New Bethesda,

A town lost in time,

Made famous by the Owl House,

A place of wonder and fantasy,

With over 300 artworks built of concrete and glass,

Arranged in some otherworldly creation in a tiny dry garden by deceased artist Helen Martens.

From there we travelled to George,

Wilderness,

Sedgefield and Nysna,

All part of the Garden Route,

With a final stopover on the way home at Philippuilas.

Our visit to the Big Tree in Hookville Wilderness on our last day in the Garden Route was not planned.

It was an impromptu stop after eavesdropping on the proprietor of Hookville Country Cafe,

Telling another client about it.

We were at the Hookville Country Cafe for Sunday brunch.

It is the home of the best cheesecake in South Africa.

Hmm,

Also voted by Eaton Magazine.

So of course we had dessert too,

When in Rome.

After a delicious brunch,

A second cup of coffee and a shared slice of blueberry cheesecake,

We went,

Feeling full and fat,

To find the tree.

After paying 24 rand,

Just under $2 each for the privilege and happy to do so,

We meandered along the damp,

Shady path in the Woodville Forest,

Wondering when we would see it.

We didn't have to worry,

We could not have missed it if we tried.

The 850 year old Otenecua yellowwood stands 33 metres or 108 feet tall and 12 metres or 39 feet in diameter.

It is magnificent.

Not quite the general Sherman tree of California,

A giant sequoia that is 84 metres or 275 feet in height and 30 metres or 98 feet in circumference around the base,

But the old Otenecua yellowwood definitely has stature and presence.

I am amazed that it missed the woodcutter's blade,

I said looking up at its foliage,

Noticing that there was another tree growing out of one of its branches.

Yellowwoods were so sought after as timber trees that from being an abundant resource,

They became almost extinct in some areas.

So it was really miraculous that this tree was able to avoid becoming furniture.

Yellowwoods are now protected in South Africa.

We paused at the tree for a while,

Soaking up its wisdom.

Then feeling slightly awed by this ancient,

We continued on the short forest walk,

Signposted by small arrows on the side of the footpath.

We meandered along the cool trail,

Paused at the labelled trees and pointed out the small flowers and ferns nodding in the undergrowth.

We passed by some felled trees uprooted or cut down,

Left to decompose where they lay and make homes for the tiny inhabitants of the forest,

All part of the cycle of life.

We completed the 2 kilometre or 1.

24 mile circular route,

Nodded a farewell to the big tree and emerged into the sun again,

Feeling refreshed from our forest bath.

That was lovely,

Said Matthew as we got into the car to drive back.

He sat for a moment,

Contemplative and then said,

You know,

It strikes me that a tree is just a tree.

It doesn't try to be anything else.

It doesn't say I might get cut down so I won't grow.

I'll stay small and hide under a fern.

It doesn't try to be a fern.

It just grows upwards towards the light.

We could do well to act like a tree.

Say more,

I said,

Interested in Matthew's perspective.

Well,

He replied,

Act like a tree.

Just be you.

Don't try to be a fern or hide in fear of the woodcutter.

Grow,

Develop,

Be like a tree.

Too many of us try to be something we're not and then get angry or depressed when we can't live up to some skewed expectation thrown at us from multiple social and other media sites and sources,

Society and those around us.

I like it,

I said,

And if I'm a yellow wood,

I don't try to be an olive tree or a paperbark.

I accept that I am a yellow wood.

As a tree,

I am grounded,

Rooted while rising up and spreading out,

Searching for the light,

Drinking it in,

Reaching my bows out to catch the sun and feel the rain.

I offer shelter and protection as well as delight and joy.

Yeah,

I think we could all do better if we acted like a tree.

And it set me thinking,

Do I act like a tree?

Not always.

I have sometimes stayed small and crept away,

Tried to hide under a proverbial fern afraid of getting cut down.

Sometimes I have been cut down to size or used for what I can offer,

Had the fruits of my labours stripped from me and been left feeling naked and used.

But would a tree care?

Would a tree buckle under the anger and disappointment?

When a tree is damaged,

You may see it in its curled leaves,

Pocked bark or broken limbs,

But it rarely succumbs.

It just gets on with it,

Using whatever resources are at its disposal to revitalise and regrow.

Trees are amazingly resilient.

Just cut down a tree and leave its roots intact and wait.

Given enough time,

The stump will grow shoots.

Hmm,

I think I want to remember that and act more like a tree.

So how would it look and feel for me to act like a tree?

Rooted,

Grounded but flexible enough to withstand the impact of the wind and storms.

Centred,

Strong and sure.

Reaching up for the light and out for the space.

Always growing and getting stronger.

Being there for others,

But not so that I get crowded out or stripped of my bark or fruit or leaves or branches so that I can no longer survive or thrive.

Nurturing and nourishing myself to keep me healthy and strong.

Having an immune system that can fight off parasites,

Germs and illness.

Accepting that there are seasons and being with those cycles,

Not fighting against them.

Knowing that it is useful to hibernate,

To go quiet and rest in order to re-energise and have the strength and resources to grow more.

To become more of me.

Hmm,

Could you be more like a tree?

In what ways?

Reviews

That was wonderful! Inspiring and makes me want to visit South Africa someday! 😉

Beautiful and wise, a little fairytale-like journey