On the importance of Trees..........

 

On the way to the Conservatorium of Music, I had to pass a corner of the Botanical Gardens.

Usually I was running late and barely noticed the big trees situated at that corner, but on an extremely hot day, I was just too hot to rush. Carrying heavy bags and with salty sweat  almost blinding me, I stopped under the shade of the trees. Much to my amazement, the temperature under the trees was considerably more endurable. I put down my heavy bags, closed my eyes, and just stood there breathing. I had read somewhere that trees are the "lungs" of nature, and on that blistering hot day, this seemed true to me. A few minutes of deep breaths, and I felt renewed.

I also felt a renewed admiration for trees and realised how easy it can be to take trees for granted and forget just how important they are.

 

Imagine for a moment,

this planet without trees...

what do you see?

 

If there were no trees:

 

Where would birds nest,

weary wings get to rest,

where would bees hang their hives,

cocoons wait to become butterflies?

 

Where would rain drenched horses, sheep and cattle,

men exhausted but still in the saddle,

find a moment to just be still

but under a trees majestic covering?

 

Where would boys build their imaginary castles,

live out their pretend but fearsome battles,

girls swing all the way to the sky,

giddily feeling as if they really could fly?

 

(Under a tree, Newton found a great idea,

although to begin, not all did agree.)

 

Where would we be without the trees?

Would we know the caress of a summer's breeze,

or the magnificent colours of autumn leaves?

Would know sweetness, juicy and rich,

were it not for apples and oranges, cherries and peach?

 

Trees provide shelter, shade, and food,

they provide stability with their solid roots,

they give us oxygen so that we can breathe,

many are the gifts, from the trees we receive.

(Citizen Z)

 

"Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.When we are stricken and cannot bear our lives any longer, then a tree has something to say to us: Be still! Be still! Look at me!" (Herman Hesse, extract from "Trees. Reflections and Poems")