A Neighborhood Friend

At the beginning of the first pandemic lock down I met a new friend in the neighborhood. After wrapping up an online Spring Equinox celebration I went outside for what would become regular evening walks. It was March 2020, and everyone was still in shock from being thrust into a collective unknown of living in a pandemic.

As I walked down my suburban street in a state elevated by prayer and being in sacred community the world seemed very alive. I came to a full stop when I saw a face in a tree. Looking at nature’s etching of a face in the place where a branch had been cut off many years ago I wondered what its mournful eyes where trying to tell me. Past the communication barrier between us I decided then that I would do my best to cultivate a relationship with it.

During the pandemic lockdown the tree provide me solace by giving me a moment of contact with another living being. Different species interconnected with one another. My friend gave me a new perspective on time. Life unfolds at the rate of nature, not a clock. It showed me the power of standing still. Going deep into the dark for nourishment, simultaneously reaching high for the light. How to continue to grow and heal the wounds life can subject a body too.

I am deeply grateful for the gifts of this unexpected friendship and how it has helped me to develop a deeper appreciation for the Earth.