LETTER TO THE EDITOR

November 16, 2023

By Paula York 

The leaves have fallen. It’s time to rake and gather them up, take them into the gardens, to warm the earth and soil as compost for a new season of spring and new growth. 

This season is showing us it’s time to let our stories fall to the earth, to shine light on our story. It’s time to release what no longer works and to let go of old patterns of hurt and suffering. It’s time to bring the stories together, rake them up, see the many shapes and sizes of what was brought forth in the previous season.  Was there a display of co-creation that brought forth a tightly woven, cohesive tapestry of family and / or community? 

Tree time is like taking a pause to enjoy a cup of your favorite tea or coffee. Trees bring many gifts that are often ignored.  With each season they talk to us and sing to us.  The breeze  of wind blowing through their leaves in the spring and summer soothes us. The rustling sound of fallen leaves under our feet crunches itself into a beautiful world thats necessary for insects & worms to use for shelter & warmth in the winter.  

Like the spider web, trees weave an underground web that in turn gives US (United Souls) a supportive foundation to walk upon. The root system of the tree connects to every other tree, supporting and giving strength to one another. They weave a foundational blanket of support that we humans walk upon. Animals also enjoy the earth they play and live upon. Animals and Birds are as connected to Mother Nature (Gaia) as ‘We’ are. 

The tree grows tall and strong, caring for itself, trusting in its innate ability to move through the seasons year after year.  The taller tree knows its job is to create a canopy of shade for ‘US’ and a place where birds and squirrels can rest and nest.  Often the canopy will provide shelter for the smaller, shorter trees so they too can support the smaller critters that enjoy this earthy home environment. 

The tree knows its function of ‘Breathing In’ and ‘Breathing Out’ is necessary for the ebb and flow that breathes through the lungs of the human body.  This gift of air animates US (United Souls). Yes, we are as United and Connected to the trees on this planet as ‘We’ are to one another. 

The circular trunk of the tree is like a an old time record, CD or DVD that has recorded the story of its lifetime. Science tells us the rings in a tree are representative of its lifespan, that we call age.  I believe they also represent a record of the trees human experience.  When one sees the beauty of a tree, the tree feels this recognition and it imprints it into itself. When it becomes the home for a nest of birds or squirrels, it holds that memory as well.  When a person touches a tree, hugs a tree, the tree feels it ‘IS’ loved and appreciated for the life force it gives ‘US’. It encodes all of the earthly human experience within itself.  

The tree has also given of itself to provide ‘US’ (United Souls) with the shelter we call a house, a home. Some trees know this is their other chosen gift to give, just as one knows it’s their purpose to provide shelter and home for another. This might be a personal place of shelter you provide yourself. It could be shelter for your family or a friend.  There are also those who open their heart and home to another ‘in need’ of shelter. Ask yourself if there is someone you know that you can support in this way? 

This community of homes, we call a neighborhood or city, is meant to be as connected and sturdy as the root system below the earth. Our native Americans knew this and continue to share this knowledge.  They knew there was once, a long time ago, a time on this planet that this concept was known. This was the way of living, of  expressing the inner~knowing and inner~standing of a way of BEing connected as ONE Unified Society of Conscious Awareness. 

We are in a season of remembering how our ancestors held the intention to experience and choose the inner ~ power of United Communication through response rather than over-reaction. 

It’s time to stand tall and strong like the mighty Oak in a storm. The Oak reminds us that ‘We’ as humans hold an inner strength and endurance that we need to survive and thrive.  It tells us to live in full authenticity with the inner strength to speak your truth without harsh words or the need to over explain and without exaggerating.   The Willow tree says to be flexible, to be willing to bend or yield.  The rhythm of Gaia, the animals and her plants and trees can teach ‘US’ and guide ‘US’ with the cycle of each and every season. 

There is a guardian tree in front of the old High School ~ Middle School that has an unusual display of its root system. There is a root that comes up out of the ground and circles around the tree itself, goes back into the earth, then up and out again.  It’s as if the tree is hugging itself.  It’s loving itself while recalling the children that have played and danced around it. 

I wonder, is it even possible that this was how it kept itself from falling during the 1997 flood or even the previous flood? Did it bring its root system up and around its other roots to hold itself safe within its own rooted system? 

Is this tree asking ‘US’ to pull up the roots of our ancestral safe haven? Is this guardian tree asking ‘US’ to once again become a family and a community of United Souls? 

As winter approaches and we move into a season of self reflection, it is time to ask ourselves deep questions. Pause and listen to the Voice of Spiritual Guidance. 

How will our individual choices and the choices of our community ripple out into the world around ‘US’ that forms our future foundational Root System? 

Every city and every country sets an example for its neighbor. Let’s do our part to BEcome a place of peace and harmony. 

Ultimately, what will ‘We’ be teaching the children and grandchildren of Falmouth and surrounding communities?

What story will the falling leaves of next year hold for this community?