Through the Trees

I get sad sometimes at silly things. At things that I don't think most people notice. I've connected myself to inanimate objects; and they've taken on serious meaning to me. Some of these items are unique, one of a kind items; and some of them are groups of things that I've connected to on some deeply spiritual level. One of these groups is trees. I know, trees, right. Who ever heard of something so ridiculous? But there's something about seeing an enormous tree, reaching as deep into the sky as it does into the ground. I think my favorite view is laying on my back in the cool grass and staring up through the branches of some enormous tree. There is something very moving for me about it. And there's also something incredibly disturbing and sad when I see a tree cut down. Makes me sad, and a bit mad, to see these amazing, in some cases ancient, trees being cut down.

Now, I love this time of year. Love it. I love the low-hanging clouds, the cool breeze, the random rain and the emerald green that fills the world. I love the dappled shade that ebbs and flows through my yard like ocean waves; moving in and out of grass with perfect rhythm. But most of all, I love this exact time of year, for the same reason many people hate it, and it's because the cottonwoods are blooming.

This is the two week time of the year when the cottonwoods let loose their namesake - little puffs of cotton on the wind. It is fantastic. Literally, like a fantasy. I love to watch a cool, clear day with little bits of cotton lazily moving through my neighborhood like faeries blessing the wind with their presence. Love it. The sun, the breeze, the newly blooming flowers, grass and leaves gently moving back and forth and upward, ever upward toward the newly warmed sun. And for a brief time, cotton makes the world look even more amazing. This is the cool moment before the heat sets in; this is a breath before the storm; the time when the sun beats down on my part of the world.

I live in my neighborhood because of the trees. I'm not kidding. I chose my house because of the two big trees in my yard. I could not live somewhere without tress. A couple of years ago some folks in my neighborhood cut three enormous cottonwood trees down - perhaps the oldest trees in our neighborhood, destroyed, cut up and hauled away. Some of the oldest trees in the city. Made me sick. Still makes me sick. I'm not sure why they did it; I never asked them because I was afraid of what I might say. I'm just afraid that it was something to do with convenience. It wasn't convenient to have these trees around. The cotton bothered them. Or something so mundane. But in the end, just months later, they moved away. And in their wake, there was an empty house and an empty yard - with great, gaping holes in the grass where the trees used to be.

And so I love this time of year. I cherish the little things. I try not to be annoyed when cotton gets sucked up my nose; I laugh instead. Because without these giants my life would be hot and without respite; and of course as my fifth grader tells me, I would be without clean air as well. I think we may be burdened in America by convenience. If it isn't fast and easy - convenient - then it isn't worth my time. If the tree bothers me, well then I cut it down.

Take a moment if you can. Enjoy the trees. Listen to them talking to you - they do talk - even on windless days the trees talk. Take a moment and sit in a park, or at your house, or somewhere where I giant tree lives and put your back to it. I promise it won't mind. And just sit. Listen and try and appreciate life for what it is - not for what it could be or what it might one day be - but for what it is. Trees have the right idea.