Recently on my walks through the park near our house I’ve been reminded of the
Resilience
of nature.
Late last fall the city of Plymouth cut down all of it’s small ash trees in the park as part of an effort to stop the spread of emerald ash borer disease. The area looked quite desolate after they cut down and ground many ash trees into wood chips. And I wondered how I would ever feel at home in the park again with so many trees gone.
Park area shortly after trees were removed
But this week I noticed how much green was popping up amidst the piles of wood chips that remain. It will be different than it was before with new life filling in the empty spaces.
“Nature is, above all, profligate. Don’t believe them when they tell you how economical and thrifty nature is, whose leaves return to the soil. Wouldn’t it be cheaper to leave them on the tree in the first place? This deciduous business alone is a radical scheme, the brainchild of a deranged manic-depressive with limitless capital. Extravagance! Nature will try anything once.”
― Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
The life force is amazing. I’ve seen tree roots crack sidewalks and tiny seeds sprout in the most unlikely of spaces. This resilience and strength give me hope that though we have mucked up a lot of things on this earth, that the innate extravagance and creativity of nature will surprise us.
I imagine that if all of the humans left this city that nature would take over in a matter of a few years. There are so many plants, creatures, insects, bacteria and fungi that surround us and even live within us.
Each time I take a walk under the trees I realize what a deep mystery life is, like a beauty filled poem that I cannot quite grasp the meaning of.
“Our life is a faint tracing on the surface of mystery, like the idle curved tunnels of leaf miners on the face of a leaf. We must somehow take a wider view, look at the whole landscape, really see it, and describe what’s going on here. Then we can at least wail the right question into the swaddling band of darkness, or, if it comes to that, choir the proper praise.”
― Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
We humans can grow our own resilience too. Here are some ways that have helped me to become more resilient:
- Facing my fears
- Being compassionate with myself and embracing my perfectly imperfect self
- Practicing presence/meditation
- Reaching out to connect with friends and loved ones
Happy Solstice my friends.
May you walk in beauty.
A neighbor about a block away has 9 cute fluffy puppies!
I could never get all nine of the puppies in the frame – here are 6 of them.
Fresh basil from my container garden that I froze today.
Another photo for my plastic/trash in nature series
Another wild altar seen on one of my walks in nature.
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