Trees are so glorious. What stories they’d have to tell; witnessing secrets of love, loneliness and so many memories. As years and decades pass they stand majestically tall and proud. Reaching towards the heavens for light with strong routed feet and sculptured toe muscles planted firmly in mother earth they breathe and cleanse our planet.
I’m sure we’ve all looked at the leaves of a tree and thought how similar the network of its veins are to a human lung. Trees do breathe. In fact they deserve some serious respect; without them pollutants would have made far greater inroads into poisoning our natural environment.
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The breathing occurs in the most microscopic parts of the leaf; hundreds of little breathing tubes called the stomata (appropriately meaning “mouth” in Greek) are responsible for bringing in air. The tree breathes the energetic universal life force and transforms carbon dioxide; fighting almost single handedly to save our planet.
All the trees pictured here have somehow caused me to stop in my tracks over the last few days, called to me to connect with them as I’ve walked my dog, and given me much to ponder.
I’ve been focusing on the sense of touch. How there are many without it in this present crisis. How the power of touch carries a responsibility in its possibility for harm or healing and how we touch with more than just our hands. Each moment of being alive is a miracle when we look beneath with attention through the senses. We need a sense of touch in our lives.
So when I saw the beautiful bark of this tree I had to touch it. Giving off such incredible energy it took my breath away. Emotions seemed to surge through me like ocean waves. Here I was caressing a tree, sensory upgrade....I swiftly looked around....phew no one there!
Having made such a connection with the tree through my hands it brought to mind how we enhance our connection to the breath when we lay our hands on our belly.The sensitive skin of our hands meeting the sensations of the breath brings a deeper understanding, a knowing.
We take the sense of touch inwards as we breathe, the breath being our bridge between the outer and inner worlds. Its very essence is felt as it glides through the body, gently touching our spine and awakening its aliveness. The breath has the power to change emotions when we touch it with our minds, and therefore touching our hearts. When every cell connects with the breath magic is possible.
