New Life
Every tree is a mother. Each season she gives birth to
new life. She spends the winter pregnant with seed, reserving
all the nutrients she imbibes to feed the creation growing
inside. Her limbs hang bare, feeble yet strong. Her stature is
proud; perhaps a bit tired, but confident, as she patiently
awaits her vitality to return. She draws her subtle energy from
the rich, wet ground, and rests in the wisdom of her nature.
Meanwhile, her body and soul prepare for the budding of
spring. The days grow longer, her source of light, stronger.
Her faith proves true and soon she is bright again. First she
is adorned with little flowers, noticeable mainly to herself.
Others merely sense a change. They say they can "smell it in
the air."
She soon feels the flowers turn into smooth coils of fiber, then
delights as they unfold into beautiful, fresh leaves. A
passerby notices her change: "suddenly everything looks so
green!" he says. And so it is. Not only green, but shiny,
bright, new green, like a fresh pepper just harvested from the
fields. The mother tree smells and feels alive, and she
celebrates with her friends and neighbors, as they, too, have
given birth, once again.
The greatest honor of motherhood, of course, is to watch
your children grow. To see them become strong and independent,
and to witness their first recognition of their own selves.
They slowly realize that they are whole, not merely one of your
parts. Finally, they find their own colors, turning from green
to red, or perhaps orange, or brown. They please the world with
their brilliance, and at last, express the will to be free.
As the mother, the tree must let them fall. She must release
her grip, and let them sail, gently swaying back and forth
through the tides of the open air. From her distance, the tree
does not know what will become of them. She only knows that as
the weather cools and the days shorten, she must reserve her
energy for another cycle of change. She will give birth again,
and again and again. So continues the life of the mother, who
is a tree.
(c) Lori Lobell Evert All Rights Reserved
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