My Friend the Tree

It is very true that my best friend in middle school was a treeI’ve actually had numerous tree-best-friendsAnd even a couple of mystical experiences with treesWhile the human world often feels foreign to meTrees make me feel right at homeSo, I totally understood it when forest bathing became a thingIt’s a thing because it’s wildly effective in nervous system regulationIt’s wildly effective because nature physiologically operates on multiple levels simultaneouslyPsychologically, we know we’re dependent on trees and the oxygen they generateWe know they model resilience, rootedness, and coregulation with the environmentBut it goes way deeper than thatTrees speak directly to our immune and nervous systems through phytoncidesWhich we often extract as essential oilsAnd even visually taking in the organized chaos of a tree’s leaf system rewires the amygdalaWe are fluent in the language of trees at a biological levelSo, with permission, I’m a tree hugger. A tree climber. A tree appreciatorAnd lately I’ve been spending time laying beneath the branchesOf my little tangerine treeJust looking upSoftening my gazeMoving in and out of focusA leaf hereThe dappling lightA baby tangerine or cluster of themThe whole, vibrant picture.One day, my focus landed on a dead branch and all its little twigs and spursSurrounded by life and greenery“Hmmm…” I thought, “my life is like this tangerine tree.Most of it moving along nicely, and this one dead branch”Which I equated with my career.As I wondered why it was even there, how it survived the last pruningA hummingbird came and perched on a branchletEasily alighting right above my headBecause of all the places on this treeThis empty area was the most hospitable to a hummingbird.I try to spend 10 or 20 minutes under that tree every day when the temp is under 100And the hummingbird joined me for two weeks solidSitting, breathing, sometimes sticking her filament tongue out at meWhich i took as a sign of affectionIf I brought my phone with me, she protestedFlying down and hovering in a distinctly reprimanding fashionAll this to sayThat empty branch became meaningfulIt opened a relationshipSo maybe I can rethink the association I madeAnd recognize nature’s wisdom and purposeExactly as it is This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fallingtenderly.substack.com