I have been friends with a tree next to the school where I work for about three years now.
What does it mean to be friends with a tree?
Each time I walk by, usually two times a day five times a week (in the days of before), I pause for at least ten seconds to take the tree in.
To notice what has changed and what is different.
To connect with its nooks, branches, lines, forms.
To thank God that life like this has been created.
I want to continue to explore the ways in which nature can revitalize
Rejuvenate
Reinvent
REMIND
My reconnection with the tree also signifies something else: the beginning of the school year.
Because this friendly tree of mine is one of three trees that lines a parking lot next to my school.
For more than nine years, I have walked by this tree every day I have gone to work.
At least 1,500 times.
This year, coming back to my classroom has meant a change that I cannot even fully understand.
Teaching alone in my classroom while I stare at six- and seven-year-olds in a Zoom Room.
Walking to work later than usual since the only things I have to prepare are mostly digital.
It is strange to see the ways in which the tree has remained the same while the world around it changes.
Or seems to remain the same.
Because really the tree is always changing, each season bringing out a new covering for this old friend.
As someone who isn’t always feeling change, it’s a beautiful reminder
The nature of impermanence
How it can makes us value all that we have been blessed with
How it can assist us in living each moment so deeply with the ones we love and care about
How it cultivates peace
