Life tree

A few weeks ago I was given the task to first imagine, then draw my life tree. As I heard the invitation my mind instantly pictured the tree I had marveled at several times in the previous days while walking my dog in the garden close to my apartment.
It is a big, strong tree, full of color. And importantly, it grew amidst nothing but gray asphalt pavement, its invisible roots penetrating the earth somewhere deep out of sight.
Oh, how I cried as I shared this to my group therapy folks. As much as I wanted to share a happy story, the happy story of my favorite tree and the joy I accessed within myself while looking at it… There was my sadness again. My mind brought back pictures of the many obstacles I had to overcome and the loneliness that often accompanied me as I sometimes pushed forward despite it all and sometimes merely endured what enveloped me.
And yet the therapist told me her sense was that my tree was a stable one, a deeply grounded one, and how surprised I was to hear these words! To recognize myself as stable and grounded, and notice the difference I’ve undergone in the last few years.
This tree is amazing. This tree will shed it’s leaves, be covered in snow, shelter birds and grow green and yellow and red… This tree is here, now after now.

“Instructions for living a life: pay attention. Be amazed. Tell about it.” – Mary Oliver 💛