Reflections: A Sacred Grove
June 2, 2022
I wandered through the forest, lost and bereft, until I came across a sacred grove. The tree in the center was broken and battered like me, yet its form was that of a cross. Not unlike myself when I extend my arms up to shoulder height and hold them there. But I was too tired to stand there like the tree with my arms held aloft. It was no small thing just to be present most days, let alone holding a pose. So, I sat in the center of the sacred grove and I asked the tree for some of its strength.
“I too am weary,” the tree told me. “I have been standing in the midst of this sacred grove, broken and battered, my limbs are weary and I can not put them down.” The tree began to weep, and I wept with it.
“Look,” I said to the tree, “there is beauty all around us. The rhododendrons are blooming in beautiful shades of pink, rose and magenta. Surely these beautiful flowers can offer sustenance and succor as the world spins out of control around us.”
“Oh, the rhododendrons,” the tree replied, “they are old and they are wise. They have strength I no longer possess. I feel blessed to stand here in their presence. We are rooted from the same ground. As are you.”
I pondered on that thought, that I too am rooted from the same ground as the tree and the rhododendrons. We are all rooted from the Earth, she is our Mother. I felt the limbs and branches of the rhododendrons wrapping around the tree and me. The flowers tickling my skin, while leaving a faint tint of pollen on my skin.
I felt the strength of the rhododendrons strong roots pass into me, and I took a long, deep breath and exhaled some of the worries I was carrying with me before I came to the sacred grove. I rested there for a while, feeling lighter, feeling grateful that I was able to let go of some of the weight I had been carrying on my weary body. In that sacred grove, I found a kindred spirit in the tree. In that sacred grove, I found peace.
