The day I asked a tree for forgiveness

Khush Raho with Sangeeta

When I was a child, a beautiful Amaltas tree outside our gate provided immense joy with its yellow canopy as its flowers covered the ground with a golden hue.

Young boys stuffed firecrackers into its oval shaped hole in the trunk every Diwali night and letting an explosion tear through the tree again and again. I relived that memory in a dream last night, probably reacting to news of thousands of trees being felled in our city. I found myself asking that tree for forgiveness.

Trees are one of the most sentient and evolved beings on our planet. Many of them have been around for thousands of years.  Through their roots they connect with other trees via underground fungal networks. So while our image of a tree is that of a solitary being, they are in fact conscious members of an earth community.

They have deep roots that go into the earth, drawing nutrients and water and connecting with her biofield energies. At the same time the canopy reaches upward into the sky, receiving the energy of the sun and the air. In perfect balance: drawing from the earth and the sky, growing in harmony with their environment and their neighbours. It grows in both directions at once, and that is precisely why it stands.

The tree breaks down carbon dioxide to build itself, layer upon layer, and gives back oxygen, the very air we breathe. Because it cannot flee, it has developed the most sophisticated survival mechanisms– releasing antimicrobial compounds to protect itself, while sharing food and information with its community through that underground web.

When a great tree is dying, it pushes its remaining resources outward through the network, for the others. Its final act is one of generosity. It is a perfect being, one that works for itself and simultaneously for its community, in harmony. That is why I see it as a role model.

Tip

Touch a tree—barefoot if possible. Trees release phytoncides that boost immune cells for days. Contact with earth may improve blood flow by reducing red cell clumping. Spend five minutes: feet on soil, hand on bark, breathing quietly. Small ritual, meaningful calm and potential health benefits.

Sangeeta Bhalla 

is an Energy Healer. 

She can be reached at 

www.sangeetabhalla.net)