The amazing images of life reflected in trees

laura black
Jul 20, 2017 · 3 min read

I’m kind of fascinated and in love with trees. I have written about the teaching they have for us. The healing they offer. And I just saw this amazing series of images that truly show how trees can provide guidance every day in how to live, how to overcome adversity, how to make life sweeter.

The story was in the Atlantic Monthly and I am offering a few of the images here with some of my own ah-ha moments. Please do look at them all and take enough time to let their teachings sink in. I’d love to hear your comments as well.

  1. From death grows life. This tree teaches that life truly never ends. It keeps giving back.
Hooglede German Military Cemetery Credit: Christopher Furlong / Getty

2. Nature won’t let man destroy it. Nature will be around longer than we are and it defies even the worst of adversities. This tree only knows that it must live and lets the circumstances be what they may.

Lachapelle-Auzac, France Credit: Eric Cabanis / AFP / Getty

3. These trees are making up for the pain and fear that occurred in the building, which was originally a sanatorium used to treat tuberculosis patients in the early 20th Century in Berlin. However in WWII, it became a military hospital. Many died here under horrific circumstances.

Beelitzer Heilstaetten sanatorium Credit: Sean Gallup / Getty

4. Trees allow man to manipulate them without succumbing to any of it. This Buddha-shaped pear took a local farmer in China 6 years to figure out how to make a mold that pears would grow into and shape into a Buddha. We’d be smart to learn to also go with the flow and release control.

Weixian county, north China’s Hebei province Credit: AFP/Getty

5. Trees bring us joy, hope and a sense of security. They let us be children no matter what age. They are here to assist us in all aspects of life with their strength.

Guadalupe River, Gruene, Texas Credit: Eric Gay / AP

6. We are all connected. This ancient tree in Thailand gently cradles a Buddha head, now part of the tree itself, reminding us that we are all one.

Ancient city of Ayutthaya, Thailand Credit: Jorge Silva / Reuters

Please leave your ideas and comments on what you see as the teachings of these mighty trees. And read my Blog on The Teachings of Trees.

Excavating your life

At some point we all begin to search for the answers to those existential questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? I’m there now and hoping to help others through my own experiences and insights.

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