Thanksgiving Wishes
There is a force within that gives you life. Seek that. - Rumi
Through the ages and all around the world, we have looked to trees to make sense of our lives, honoring their transcendental qualities in a variety of ways.
Did you know that in our lexicon there is a word – dendrolatry – that refers to the way we worship trees? Trees provide us with many benefits necessary for survival, including clean air, filtered water, shade, and food. They also give us hope and insight, and courage to persevere – even in the harshest conditions. Trees teach us to stay rooted while soaring to great heights. In other words, trees help us become more aware of our connections with something larger than ourselves.
When we feel connected to trees, we feel their call to a state of mindfulness, where we become more in tune with and more compassionate toward our surroundings and ourselves. Trees tether us to harmony, unity, and connections between heaven and Earth, the past and present, death and rebirth. In our life and specifically in our yoga practice of vrksasana (tree pose) we see ourselves in trees through being grounded, rooted, and connected in our lives, having a “trunk” or core - a solid base that provides stability, having branches to reach for light, growth and illumination and that provide cover and protection, and transforming through change like trees through the seasons. Trees personify the potential ascent of humans from the realm of matter to the higher reaches of the spirit.
We also look to trees for healing — not only in the medicinal sense, but for spiritual healing, comfort, and peace. We find trees in therapeutic gardens and cemeteries, planted to commemorate special events, and connect to trees as part of spiritual practices – in our ICY teacher training, we connect with the trees to deepen our understanding pranayama, to nature’s breath, and their symbiotic relationship.
Trees exhale for us so that we can inhale them to stay alive. Can we ever forget that? Let us love trees with every breath we take until we perish. – Munia Khan
On this Thanksgiving Day, take time to connect with the outdoors. Observe the trees with your heart. Notice how they share Mother Earth. Pines grow next to Aspens and coexist peacefully, without ever a breath of politics or religion. They offer shelter. They teach us about flexibility, the idea that we can bend so we don’t break. Just like us, trees have grown and survived under extreme conditions and they display their age and struggles with grace.
Walk outside, away from the festivities. Pause and center yourself. Close your eyes and invite your breath to be deep and slow, exhaling twice as long as you are inhaling. Tune in to sounds, sensations, and your environment. Touch a tree or lean your spine into the tree and feel the tree’s strength. Breathe. Observe. Be. Take what you need and leave the rest behind.
Everything you see has its roots in the unseen world. The forms may change, yet the essence remains the same. Every wonderful sight will vanish, every sweet word will fade, But do not be disheartened, The source they come from is eternal, growing, Branching out, giving new life and new joy. Why do you weep? The source is within you And this whole world is springing up from it. – Rumi
Appreciate. Experience. Cherish. Offer grace. Celebrate.
Namaste.
Jeanne Adams
MA, C-IAYT, ERYT-500
