Day 43

I found a just right prompt: Find a role model in nature. I’ll add it at the end of this entry. I enjoyed church yesterday. Asked for the laying on of hands to restore JOY to my being. When I have a long stretch of the less than healthy symptoms, joy is what I miss most. I believe in group energy and intention. The ritual does make a difference at least in my acceptance of my health status.

Today’s prompt is Find a Role Model in the Natural World. My response was immediate; A Redwood Tree.  The Redwood tree has no tap root.  It is bound to the Earth by a root wad, the many connections that intertwine and support growth.  The tree actually stands by its own weight.  Redwoods love fog and rain and cannot live away from the Coast. Redwood is almost impervious to pests and tree diseases. The tree can continue to grow as long as it can pump water to the top. Not having a slick trunk, much of the water is transmitted through it shaggy bark. Only when gravity forces the tree to generate more energy than it has, does the tree begin to die.  It takes a lot of energy to get water to over 330 feet in the air!

I have no deep roots and many interwoven connections, some more on the surface than others.  Some are old and strong bonds that support my life. I cannot imagine trying to live in a place where I could not go to the ocean every day.  I love fog on my skin and even though I get tired of days of rain, I would not trade it for any other weather. I too feel that I must either grow or begin to die. Instead of gravity, I must fight routine, old patterns, and being in the past or the future. I have stood on my own for most of my life. I never thought I would spend most of my life alone, but that is what I have created. And I still feel that I am standing with others, close enough to touch, and to lend shelter and protection. I have a rough exterior at times. I never did get the hang of feminine presentation.  I have always been a kind of casual tomboy. I can’t say that I have the spiritual aura that the trees give, and I know that I share wisdom whenever I have some. I want to stand tall no matter what’s going on around me, be it buffeting from political weather, attacks of illness, hard going, loneliness, or stress. I do let pests get to me sometimes. I would like to find a way to emulate the Redwood and not let them bother me.

When I am through with the lifetime, I want my ashes spread around the base of a Redwood tree.  I want to feel that my minerals will add to the tree’s health and therefore, I will become part of one of the magnificent forest beings.