Month: May 2016

 

I came home the other day and noticed a man was cutting down a tree across the street from me. Normally this would be something I wouldn’t pay much attention to, but for some reason that day I did.

It was a beautiful tree, flowering brightly in the spring, close to seven years old and still growing taller and wider with each passing day. Yet, here was a man with a chainsaw severing limb after limb, prompting me to wonder why it was being taken down, as it truly was a showpiece in this neighbor’s front yard.

As I strolled across the street and took a moment to speak to one of the owners of the house, I asked them why they were taking the tree down. Ironically, they felt it took away from the beauty of their house and prevented people from seeing any decoration they may put on their home. While it wouldn’t have been my choice to do what they did, something interesting happened to me that I felt the need to write about as I walked away. I felt the tree speak to me. Not in words of course, but through emotions because as I walked into my house, I got on my knees and totally sobbed. I sobbed for the loss of that tree and sobbed for the decisions so many of us often make with nature, never realizing that nature has feelings too.

Is that even possible? Does nature truly have feelings?

I can’t say I have proof that it does, but I know what I felt. And watching this tree being removed to show more of the “beauty” of a house ultimately overwhelmed my heart. Maybe that’s because it’s really just a drop in the bucket of what’s going on in the world.

Forests are removed all the time to make room for new developments. Natural habitats for animals are then destroyed in the process. Kids often deface trees by carving their initials in them. I even feel sad at times when I see plants in business offices and public places that are neglected, usually by not being watered, and slowly are dying.

Honestly, I don’t think people tend to think about nature like I do, especially as of late. With all the spiritual changes I’ve been going through, I find myself becoming overwhelmed by how the world seems to not care about much of God’s beautiful creations. So while many may think it’s dumb I cried over the loss of a young and healthy tree, I don’t. Because I think what I’m truly crying about is the fact that too many of us don’t think about the idea that nature most likely has feelings too.

Nevertheless, I really will miss seeing that tree across the street and while I accept the fact that many will probably think this entry was rather silly, I hope at least a few others won’t. And I’m actually glad I cried over this entire experience because It shows I’m becoming more connected to something, something that’s far greater than I, something that I can only say must be God…

 

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson