Welcome to a teaching and short meditation on resilience using the imagery and wisdom of trees.
Resilience is defined as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties and comes from the Latin resili,
Which means to spring back or rebound.
As much as resilience involves bouncing back from life's difficult experiences,
It can also involve profound personal growth as we respond to challenging circumstances.
You can cultivate the characteristic of resilience through your meditation practice.
Using trees as a simile can be an easy method to remember and resource ways to be resilient in your own life.
So let's talk about what makes trees so resilient.
First of all,
Trees live in the forest of a community.
They do not stand alone.
They have support from that community in many ways.
Trees will signal neighbors to let them know when there is a threat.
They have a dense root system of communication.
When a tree is cut down,
The other members continue to support it through the roots and a microscopic fungal network.
The cut or injured tree is still contributing to the community and in return,
Receiving the community's support.
Trees planted outside a forest are not as healthy.
Trees have evolved to help others around them in the community of their forest.
They know helping others is also helping themselves.
This is a little bit of tree wisdom.
Another thing that helps trees be so resilient is their flexibility.
Have you ever gone outside and watched trees sway in the wind or a storm?
They bend a lot.
These magnificent beings that seem so solid and strong are remarkably flexible.
Challenged by storms,
They deepen their root system in response,
Growing even more resilient.
Trees also let go of what no longer is needed.
In the fall,
Deciduous trees colorfully and joyfully release their leaves that have been making food for them for months.
They don't seem to struggle with this letting go.
They make the release a bright and brilliant display.
Knowing exactly when it's time to let go of what is no longer serving them.
Trees are also resilient because they rest all winter.
For months,
Trees go dormant to replenish themselves in the harshest of weather.
When things are cold and dark and difficult,
They use the time wisely to rest.
Trees also accept what is.
They move with the seasons.
They don't resist the natural rhythms of nature.
They flow with what is.
They accept whatever the weather offers without an argument.
This is a way to conserve energy.
This is a way to replenish.
Trees are also continually growing.
They grow in adversity and they grow in abundance.
Trees grow back from injury.
They produce seeds and flowers and fruit.
They don't give up.
Trees persist despite the circumstances they encounter.
All of these characteristics of trees are ways that help them be resilient.
We can use them as an example to cultivate resilience in ourselves.
Settle into your seat and get comfortable.
Get into stillness and close your eyes.
Connect with your body.
Connect with your breath.
Take a deep breath in and slowly release that breath out.
Then another deep breath in.
Let the breath flow slowly out.
Now let your breath return to its natural motion.
Like the swaying of tree branches in a gentle breeze.
Notice all the places your body is touching the floor or the chair.
Notice the sensations that are present at all these points of contact.
Now imagine in your mind's eye roots growing out and down from all those places of contact.
Roots meeting the earth below.
Know that you are deeply rooted in the living earth.
Notice your spine supporting your body like the trunk of a tree.
Your head reaching towards the sky like the crown of a tree.
Letting life's weather move around and through you.
See the clouds moving through the sky above the crown of your head.
You are like a tree.
You are flexible,
Strong,
Rooted,
Resilient.
Repeating these phrases silently to yourself.
May I be resilient as a tree.
May I be strongly rooted in the living earth.
May I be supported by the forest of my community.
May I be flexible in facing the ever-changing weather.
May I let go of the leaves that no longer serve me.
May I accept and flow with the changing seasons of my life.
May I continue to grow towards the light.
May I be resilient as a tree.
May I be strongly rooted in the living earth.
May I be supported by the forest of my community.
May I be flexible in facing the ever-changing weather.
May I let go of the leaves that no longer serve me.
May I accept and flow with the changing seasons of my life.
May I continue to grow towards the light.
May I be resilient as a tree.
May I be strongly rooted in the living earth.
