The Tree in My Rear Garden
The tree that stands tallest in my rear garden is THE TREE that everyone advised me to cut down. It could not be saved, said the tree experts, nature experts and state experts in SW gardening.
It is The Tree towards which robins, bluebirds, doves and the little green finches migrating on their way to elsewhere flock and whose tall branches are sought for safe harbor.
It is a tree that bears many wounds. Its’ bark is gray and decayed - dead and hollow in places. Indeed, its trunk is flaked and ashen, like charred wood whose life has gone out long ago and only barren ashes remain.
Yet, its crown stands majestic, broad, tall, and green even in the midst of winter despite the frigid mountain air. Thriving and strong. Proud and teaming with life.
There are lessons for us here. Strength in our wounds. Gifts beyond what we can imagine. The learning that we – like THE TREE - are more than our pain, our grief and our wounds.
Like the tree, we are made of fortitude and an inner will and strength to survive. The Essence of the Divine is inherent in all that is whether tree, stick, rock, or human. We are born with this Essence. It is undefeatable - and infinite -- far beyond human advice or knowing.
And we, like the tree, can allow this Essence to propel us forward despite our wounds so that we survive and even thrive in our own life’s garden.
About the Author Tilia Giron
I am a hospice chaplain. My focus is one-on-one connection with patients and their families and/or caretakers. My intention is to hold sacred space for them during and after the transitioning, grief and bereavement process, knowing they already have all the answers within them. They lead and I follow. I find inner fulfillment through my spirituality, work, relationships, and home in the midst of the wondrous untamed nature and high mountain area in which I live. I hold a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of New Mexico plus other degrees from University of Chicago and University of Iowa. I am also a licensed Spiritual Practitioner with Centers for Spiritual Living.
