July 27, 2022

Reflection

TREES

I was driving back home from St. John Neumann Church - listening to NPR Radio.

Some guy on some program was talking about a book he did on trees.  That was the theme.

Interesting ....

I missed a good bit of the interview - but what I heard called for follow up. I would like to see the pictures he put together for his book. I'd like to reflect more on what he was saying.

He asked if trees were a central metaphor for life. He talked about the brain, rivers, cauliflowers, family trees, roots, gathering evidence, branching out, etc.

I didn't understand what he was talking about when  he said something like this: "We took a piece of plastic and zapped it with a bolt of electricity. Looking at it,  you can see in the plastic the branching out of veins from the central hit."

Rivers have branches that break off or come together in their journey to the sea.

I was immediately hit with the central image of Christianity - the cross - the tree of life ... the tree of death ....

Lightning flashed that Good Friday.

Christianity branched out into the world.

Genesis begins with a tree. Take and eat.

Artists are influenced by artists. They form schools. They branch out - and on and on and on ....

Go back the other way and you go back to God.

God is a tree.

God is the great tree of life.

So maybe those who make fun of people who are concerned about trees and climate, should stop the mock. Maybe those who mock others as tree hugers - don't get metaphors.

Maybe everyone should go into the woods and study roots and branches.

Maybe everyone should sit under a tree like Sir Issac Newton.

Maybe everyone should sit on a swing and watch the world fly by.