40 Days of Peace Day Twenty Seven
Family Forever
“I receive from the tree the nurturing of a mother’s embrace. Rooted in strength she reaches out her limbs in sensitivity and concern. When I am with my trees, I am as a bird nestled in the bows of love and support.”-Rita Loyd
There is a comfort and peace we experience when we sit with our Tree relatives. Their medicine is not only in the gift of their sacrifice for lumber and shelter, for paper and fire, for baskets and bowls. Their medicine is offered in a comforting presence. Sit in silence with the Trees and whatever troubles you have, she will help you carry I promise. You see, the trees are our family.
And what do we give our family, the trees in return for their gifts?
“You can’t take something without giving back. The trees take care of us, so we have to take care of them.” -Braiding Sweetgrass
Before plastics and urban sprawl, our indigenous relatives would practice a mutually beneficial way to harvest trees and nurture the forest. Just as animals we’re carefully chosen for sustenance, and their lives honored in sacrifice, so too was the harvesting of trees.
Today we clear cut acres of forest, in many cases, without any concern for the land or the lives of our tree relatives, or our relatives who live in the shelter of the trees. Is there a gift given, an exchange, an offering of gratitude? Has greed plagued the land? We’ve “paved paradise to put up a parking lot” and the effects are evident as far as we can see.
How did we get so disconnected from the sacred?
And do you ever wonder if our disconnection from our tree relatives plays a part in our disconnection with each other, within our own bloodlines and human relationships?
When we absorb the knowledge of a world made of gifts, a world of relatives from bees to trees, to cotton and corn, our perspective naturally shifts. We cannot help but look at everything we purchase, everything we use and consume, without wondering… where did you come from? was your life honored? did you choose to sacrifice yourself for this gift? was anyone harmed in the making of this?
When we walk a sacred life, we start to make choices that align with our hearts song. There is no need to give up meat, but to know that the animal was loved and honored and his life given in a good way? Yes, this is important in healing the sacred hoop.
“By using materials as if they were a gift, and returning that gift through worthy use, we find balance. Respect. Reciprocity. All our Relations.
What would it be like, I wonder, to live with a heightened sensitivity to the lives given for ours? To consider the tree in the Kleenex, the algae in the toothpaste, the oaks in the floor, the grapes in the wine; to follow the thread of life in everything and pay it respect? Once you start, it’s hard to stop, and you begin to feel yourself awash in gifts.” _Robin Wall Kimmerer.
When we lost our home for the 3rd or 4th time… I had moments when I felt like a complete failure. The world we live in today, the one that is disconnected from the sacred, the world that measures success by money and things… that world crushed me and swallowed me up so many times. If I looked at myself through those eyes, I would see myself a failure.
But I’m not a failure. I am a seeker of truth, an ambassador of love and I spent a long time trying to heal the trauma that poisoned me.
If I listened to the words that have been aimed at me over the years of my life, I would be crippled, and I have been at times. But in my seeking of truth over the years, I learned a valuable lesson. I learned the lesson of energy. Where energy flows, attention goes. We’re all made of energy.. from the tree relatives to the blood relatives. When I direct my energy in a good way and reconnect my being to my relatives in the natural world, I lead with the strength of my own heart.
“When someone behaves aggressively toward us yet we are able to see the suffering beneath their actions, we can feel empathy for them; then we can allow empathy rather that hatred to be our guide. This will strengthen our ability to heal the aggression within our society and make it easier for us to remain calm amidst conflict.” -Captain Paul K. Chappell US Army (The End of War)
Empathy changes everything.
Empathy changes how we relate to humans and to ALL LIFE.
When Monet and I finally saved up to get our own apartment we went to our storage unit to gather our things. And here’s the thing… I had grown a new set of eyes and I no longer saw the things the same way. I didn’t need all the stuff, in fact, the stuff was heavy to carry around and cluttered my mind and space. I decided to do my best to remove myself from the negative parts of our consumeristic world. I realized it was all part of an exchange of energy and I wanted my energy to flow in a sacred circle. What we give, we receive and I feel very strongly about balancing that exchange in a good way. We can change our world with how we choose to use our energy; from money, to time, to words. Our energy is a powerful gift.
I also learned a lot about love and forgiveness on a deeper level, another lesson from the trees. They must forgive us for our ignorance and greed… they continue to drop seeds of hope and give us new forests to love. Perhaps they know we are waking up and the next time around we will honor them and be more grateful for their gift. They teach us so much from grounding ourselves in the soil, to seeing ourselves in the collective, to joining together as the roots of the trees!
We are ALL, in fact, made of energy.
We are ALL, in fact, related.
We are ALL, in a constant exchange of energy… with each other as humans and with all beings, all plants, all life.
Have you ever heard the saying, “hurt people, hurt people” ?
We’ve all hurt people when we we’re hurting and we’ve all been hurt by someone’s pain.
This time of year can be an extra sensitive time for humans. Stress and pressure from this consumerism world we’ve created… unhealed family wounds under pressure of the holidays… deadlines and expectations. And when most of the population is living in poverty, or paycheck to paycheck, this season can truly be a pressure cooker for depression and anger to surface.
And yes, “hurt people, hurt people”.
Let us all do our best to remember who we are and why we are here. Let us remember our sacred connection to the Divine, to each other, to all plants and animals… Let us remember to slow down and love ourselves. To take care of ourselves is most important, from how to speak to ourselves and how we care for ourselves. The example we live will teach our children a greater lesson than I think we realize. Be good to yourself.
And when someone acts a fool and looses their temper in traffic or at work, when a relative pushes that button that triggers old wounds… do your best to see their pain from your hearts eye. Shield yourself and shine the light the best your can. Don’t let that energy steal your joy. You don’t have to accept abuse by any means but you also don’t need to throw gas on a fire.
May our traditions be rooted in love and gratitude.
May our roots grow strong and intertwine in hope and determination
May our branches dance together through all seasons and changes
May we live in a world made of gifts, giving honor, respect and gratitude for all beings.
May we seek truth and stand in love
May the doors be open to heal the wounds of the past with grace, acceptance and complete forgiveness.
May our purpose be revealed and guidance shine the light on our path
May peace in every step lead our path
May our paths be united like the roots of our tree relatives,
as we walk each other home.
One love. One family.
Mitakuya Oyasin. All my relations.
I love you,
Sarah
Shams of Tabriz’s 40 Rules of Love
