The Wisdom of Trees
Table Talk
Setting the Table
When you come to the table, know that you do not come alone, even if it seems that nobody else is at the table with you. Take a moment and give thanks for all that joins you here. The Coffea Tree who gives her beans or the Tea Shrub who gives his leaves. The Wheat who give their grain. The Oak Tree who gives her trunk to make your table. The Stream who gives the clay from her bank to make your mug. The Humans who give their time and skills to make and gather. And the Earth who gives all of us life. Welcome to the table, where all of Creation has come to join you.
Consider the last time you found yourself sitting under the shade of a Tree. What did that Tree offer you in that moment?
If you can hear the trees in their easy hours
of course you can also hear them later,
crying out at the sawmill.
- Mary Oliver, “Do the Trees Speak?”
Maybe now, in this time when the myth of human exceptionalism has proven illusory, we will listen to intelligences other than our own, to kin. To get there, we may all need a new language to help us honor and be open to the beings who will teach us. I hope my grandson will always know the other beings as a source of counsel and inspiration, and listen more to butterflies than to bulldozers.
- Robin Wall Kimmerer, “Speaking of Nature”
Isaiah 55:12b
The mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Food for Thought
In the beginning of everything, God created – Light and Dark, Sky and Sea, Dirt and Vegetation, Moon and Sun, Bird and Fish, Air and Tree and Humankind. God created all that is – then, looking over it all, God breathed a deep sigh of love and satisfaction, and declared it all to be good.
On the day that God created Humans, God gave us our first command – to be fruitful and multiply, and to be caring stewards of all that God had made. Climate change and deforestation remind us that we Humans have not always been so faithful (or good) at following those instructions.
At the end of the fifth day, God commanded the Birds and Fish to be fruitful and multiply. As a fly fisherman who has spent many days standing alongside wooded riverbanks, I have come to believe that the fifth day must also have included some special lessons in the secrets of song for Bird and acrobatics for Fish.
But what I have come to wonder about most is what God said on the third day – what was God’s command to the Trees?
What did God tell them to make their fruit and their sap so sweet? Perhaps that their non-Tree kin would have days of bitterness and sorrow. And that the sweetness of their sugar would serve as a reminder that not all days are like that.
Maybe God hinted to the Trees that some of us would have difficulty learning to share. So they filled their limbs with so much fruit that nobody could ever imagine keeping it all to themselves.
Did God tell the Trees that the rest of us would need some shelter – a bit of shade to protect us from the sweltering Sun or some cover to keep off the rain, a perch for a nest or a burrow under the roots, somewhere safe and out of the wind to raise a family?
What did God whisper to them about how to breathe? Did God say, “I’ll start the breathing for everyone, if you’ll keep it going”?
Did God vow to the Trees that they wouldn’t go forgotten? That they had their own part to play? That they would be the ones to lift up God for the rest of us to see? That their very being would sustain life?
Did God reveal to them the beauty of their song when their branches find one another and they clap their hands in joy?
I read 17 books about Trees last year, and none of them had the answers to my questions. I still do not know what God said to the Trees on the third day. But I do know that for much of the last year, the Red Maple in my backyard was my best friend.
I rested in Maple’s shade. I read books against her trunk. I marveled at her leaves. I watched Cardinals make a nest in her and grow from a family of two to a family of five. I played with her helicopter seeds just as I’ve done with other Maples my whole life, throwing them into the air and delighting as they spin gently in the wind. I sat beneath her while I carved spoons and bowls and tool handles from the branches she gave me.
We had whole conversations together. I could say anything I wanted to, and she never ran away. I could ask any question, and she never grew tired of me. She was a reliable friend when that was the very thing I needed most. In the shelter of her provision, from the strength of her steady presence, taking in the beauty of her foliage – I experienced a divine grace.
I live very far from Maple now, but I think of her all the time. Every day at work, I eat my lunch with a spoon she gave me, and I am grateful for her friendship.
These days I am making friends with others in her family, with names like Douglas and Sitka and Redcedar. And though far away, I am finding that these same magnificent beings carry with them a grace that I came to know with Maple – the reminder that we are all remarkable creations of God, with gifts of wisdom and friendship, and the beauty of a shared song in Creation – if we can only be still enough to listen.
We’ve all heard the term “Tree hugger,” but literally hugging a Tree is proven to lower heart rates and reduce stress. Go outside and hug a Tree! Have a laugh and a bit of a conversation with her. Notice what you feel, and pay attention if she says anything back.
This week we celebrate Earth Day! Throughout your week, try to pay attention to your other-than-Human kin. Try not to think of them as “things” or “its,” but as beings that are every bit a part of God’s Creation as you are.
For a printable version of today's reflection Click Here!
*As you were reading, you may have noticed the capitalization of Human and non-Human beings. Our writer incorporated this practice into his beautiful reflection, inspired by Robin Wall Kimmerer and other indigenous writers, as a way to honor and elevate the dignity of all Creation.
Blessing
God of all Creation,
All of your Creation proclaims your grace.
Give us hearts that will listen to them
and believe what they tell us.
Amen.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Has there been a specific other-than-Human being in your life that has taught you about grace or been special to you in another way? Tell a friend about them.
Why do you think we Humans are so Human-centric? What happens when we bring the rest of God’s Creation into the conversation? What could we learn?
Brainstorm about some ways to foster a true kinship between you and other parts of Creation? What could happen if we began to see other parts of Creation as friends?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Talk to your children about their favorite natural beings – Birds, Plants, Lizards, Clouds, etc. What gifts do these other beings offer – like flowers or fruit or beauty or song?
Get some seeds or a young plant, and plant them with your children in a place that is accessible. A pot with soil or a nice sunny spot in the yard will be good. Teach your children to care for the plants, to talk to them, and to receive any gifts they might offer with thanks. (Sunflower seeds or a Cherry Tomato starter from your local farmer’s market would be great options. For a very low-maintenance choice, find a package of pollinator seeds and scatter them where you wish. They’ll spring up after the first rain and will care for themselves.)
At the table, take time with your children to talk about where their food comes from. Did a Tree give her fruit? Did the Lettuce give his leaves? Who helped the Tree or the Lettuce? Etc.
Meet our Welcoming Voice!
Rev. Keith Curl-Dove is the Fossil Fuel Campaign Manager at Washington Conservation Action. He previously pastored Presbyterian congregations in North Carolina. Keith is an environmental activist, a musician, a carver, and a certified Wild Church Leader. He and his wife, Leigh, enjoy fly fishing, hiking with their Pup, drinking fancy beers, and playing cribbage.
To hear more from Keith throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
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