We all likely learned some of this in elementary school: in Spring and Summer, abundant sunlight and heat enables leaves to create the nutrients trees need to survive and thrive. Leaves absorb the light for photosynthesis to occur in cells containing green-pigmented chlorophyll...but did you know that this pigment masks other pigments already within leaves?
During Autumn, daylight decreases and temperatures drop, signaling plants to form a kind of cork between leaf and stem and as leaves die, chlorophyll breaks down, the green pigment disappears, and other pigments are revealed: yellow, orange and red—those beguiling Fall colors.
Think about that: the colours were there all along.
There's something altogether reassuring about this. Perhaps there's much more within us humans too? More resilience? Untapped hidden potential? Some of the answers we seek elsewhere? I'd like to think more likely than not.
Poet Mary Oliver also felt more likely than not. In her poem, "When I am Among the Trees," she describes herself returning to the forest, her sun-dappled and comforting first love, just listening. And although she feels "distant from the hope of myself," the surrounding trees invite her to "stay a while." They say," “It’s simple...you too have come into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine.”
Dear friends, if you too are preoccupied with life's seasons or some other matters and needed a boost today, I hope something helpful is revealed here. If not, go to the forest.
I think Mary Oliver is my favorite poet, how she describes the natural world and how it feeds her soul resonates with me. The trees without their chlorophyll reminds me of the stars which are always there but which we can only see at night, without the sun shining. This morning the moon is a crescent and a star hangs above it. My grandson saw it this morning too and marveled at it and it made me happy to know that he too sees the natural world and its wonders.
ReplyDeleteThe stars and the moon compliment these ideas so well, Pixie... always there, waiting to shine once the clouds dissipate, once the sun sets.
DeleteI loved this - thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteI know how it works but, of course, haven’t thought about the lesson that can be drawn. It’s a good one. And the beauty was always there but came out in older age.
ReplyDeleteYes, I too appreciate the connection to aging.
DeleteI did not know the pigment is already in the leaf. The things we do not know!
ReplyDeleteIt surprised me too!
DeleteIt was there all along, that's a new way to think about it - what a wonderful thought. I agree 100% about getting a breather in nature, a forest, park, river or ocean. Restorative.
ReplyDeleteNature is such an integral part of my daily life and my mental health.
DeleteI am a HUUUUUGEEE tree lover. They are my fave of ALLLLL of nature. They (to my mind), have been here the longest and know more about us, than we know. I love that the roots under speak to each other known as the wood wide web. Trees. Absolutely brilliant and stunning.
ReplyDeleteI have been in love with trees my entire life. Insert fist bump here.
DeleteChlorophyll and photosynthesis is amazing to say the least!
ReplyDeleteTruly a marvel.
DeleteThe colors and complexity of the leaves (and humans) is there the whole time. There are always trees around me although many of them are evergreens. We can be stable and secure like the evergreen but ever-changing and complex like the deciduous.
ReplyDeleteYes. It's quite reassuring, isn't it Margaret?
DeleteWe love nature walks with lots of trees here, Autumn is my favourite colour too, have a nice week.
ReplyDeleteIt's a special time (but so is Spring as I know you are enjoying it currently).
DeleteThanks for the lesson, never knew this.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. I loved discovering this too.
DeleteI do love Mary Oliver! Sadly we don't have the kind of deciduous trees down here in Florida that turn red and orange in autumn. It's one of those things I miss about the frozen northlands.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I'd miss that too, but Mary Oliver is a worthy substitute.
DeleteI love being outside in nature. It grounds and centers me for some reason. And I love Mary Oliver. The way she writes touches me. Two of my favorite poems of hers are "The Journey" and "Wild Geese." The Journey helped me get through a very difficult time in my life, and the first line of "Wild Geese" sets the tone for a wonderful thought about being part of the living creatures of the world. The line reads: "You do not have to be good."
ReplyDeleteYes indeed, nature is a nervous system reset. And Mary Oliver? You quoted one of her most beloved lines, my favourite too, like someone you love granting you permission to be yourself, to love yourself.
DeleteWell, that's interesting to think about. I do like seeing the leaves change color though.
ReplyDeleteIt's a lovely invitation to pay attention to the world, to life, isn't it?
DeleteMy father was a deep and profound appreciator of Nature. He was especially enamored of trees, and he passed that down to me. We took many, many Nature Walks, and he often stopped by trees to talk about them, observe and touch their bark, and sometimes to sit under them, leaning against their sturdy trunks. He was the only person I ever knew to water mature trees.
ReplyDeleteIf you're interested, I wrote a post about it here.