Two Oaks
Listen here:
Out my back window stand two oak trees. I’m guessing they are about 80 feet high, nearly that many years old, and two hugs wide. I’ve spent many hours meditating on them and have come to know them as companions on the life journey. They remind me of one of my favorite poems, Friendship, by Henry Thoreau. He describes friendship like this,
Two sturdy oaks, which side by side….
Above they barely touch, but undermined
Down to their deepest source,
Admiring you shall find
Their roots are intertwined
Insep'rably.
Not only are the two oaks’ roots intertwined, but I feel that my roots are bound to theirs, forming a mystical and trinitarian friendship. I am not alone in finding friendship and God in trees.
One of my best friends is St. Hildegard of Bingen. She was a 12th century Benedictine Abbess from the Rhineland. Hildegard was gifted in so many ways. One way was the many illuminations she received from the Holy Spirt. She would draw these intricate illuminations into illustrations and described the process as divine inspiration. The Cosmic Tree was among the many illuminations she received.
I like to ponder Hildegard and this image. For me Hildegard is communicating a deep communion and collaboration between the human and the other than human natural world; how the micro and macro worlds nestle together in harmony. Thank you Hildegard and Oak Trees for your friendship that transcends time, space, and species.
Who do you feel in communion with that transcends time, space and species? Reflect and listen to what emerges.
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