Trees exude stillness, they can't move, they're rooted. They have limited forms of expression...humans are so gifted, we're given every possible form of expression and are free to experience everything that there is...we're the only species with limitless possibilities....what are we doing with them?

Next time you go for a walk, or simply as you look out of your window, look at a tree in front of you. Lay your eyes on it. Stay still. Watch it. Observe it. Be with it. Be in that moment and you may experience what I experienced a few days back – a sense of connection with the tree. 

As I looked at the tree, it reminded me of my family. All the known faces from the older generation, all the known names, all the unknown names and faces that I have not even heard of. I somehow felt a connection with all of them. 

The roots of the tree are synonyms of my family tree. All the hard work of my ancestors have contributed to making me the way I am and making my life the way it is.

I felt grateful for everything. Literally everything about myself and my life. All the good things in me, all values, morals, ethics that matter to me – I didn’t make them or choose them, they are a gift from my ancestors. I cannot take complete credit of anything that I do or say or stand by. Likewise any and every achievement of mine happens only because of the blessings of these beautiful beings that were/are part of my wonderful, huge and loving family.

That day, I even noticed how the network of veins is in each leaf. How nature makes sure that every bit of the tree is nourished. How does the tree know when it is supposed to grow a branch or a leaf or a twig? How does it know when the seasons have changed? How does it know what it is supposed to do in every season? Have you ever seen a tree doing something completely different from what the other trees are doing? No, right. How is so much intelligence all accumulated, managed, dispersed by every single tree? Just how? 

That day and ever since that day I am filled with amazement and wonderment about nature, about everything that forms a part of the ecosystem in a natural setting. Everything plays a part. Nobody is more significant or less significant. Everybody plays an equally important part. 

Coming back to the trees – like most of us, I too am distraught with all the mindless deforestation that is happening around us. There is a cure for every disease on Earth, but there is no cure for the greed of a human being. So as long as we have no control over our collective greed, there cannot be a comprehensive and inclusive solution for the cohabitation of humans and nature. 

What I learnt from trees is also this: when the wind blows wild, the trees bend. They don’t stay stuck on staying tall and straight. They are smart enough to know when to bend and when to stay tall. They sway with the wind when the wind is playful and together they may even be singing a sweet song that we are incapable of hearing. 

So, next time you can go for a walk, connect with that you see. Observe things that have escaped you so far. Be mindful of what you see and make a beautiful note about it in your mind and post a smiley emoji there so that it becomes part of your “happy place”. This way, keep adding things to your happy place and slowly you will have your own jungle of beautiful, amazing, mysterious things. This is also a nice and doable idea for a journal.