It is very true that my best friend in middle school was a tree
I’ve actually had numerous tree-best-friends
And even a couple of mystical experiences with trees
While the human world often feels foreign to me
Trees make me feel right at home
So, I totally understood it when forest bathing became a thing
It’s a thing because it’s wildly effective in nervous system regulation
It’s wildly effective because nature physiologically operates on multiple levels simultaneously
Psychologically, we know we’re dependent on trees and the oxygen they generate
We know they model resilience, rootedness, and coregulation with the environment
But it goes way deeper than that
Trees speak directly to our immune and nervous systems through phytoncides
Which we often extract as essential oils
And even visually taking in the organized chaos of a tree’s leaf system rewires the amygdala
We are fluent in the language of trees at a biological level
So, with permission, I’m a tree hugger. A tree climber. A tree appreciator
And lately I’ve been spending time laying beneath the branches
Of my little tangerine tree
Just looking up
Softening my gaze
Moving in and out of focus
A leaf here
The dappling light
A baby tangerine or cluster of them
The whole, vibrant picture.
One day, my focus landed on a dead branch and all its little twigs and spurs
Surrounded 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 pruning
A hummingbird came and perched on a branchlet
Easily alighting right above my head
Because of all the places on this tree
This 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 100
And the hummingbird joined me for two weeks solid
Sitting, breathing, sometimes sticking her filament tongue out at me
Which i took as a sign of affection
If I brought my phone with me, she protested
Flying down and hovering in a distinctly reprimanding fashion
All this to say
That empty branch became meaningful
It opened a relationship
So maybe I can rethink the association I made
And recognize nature’s wisdom and purpose
Exactly as it is
