Every Life Leaves a Canopy Behind
©Courtesy of Dianne Sonkson
Years ago, someone very special to my heart lost her father, with whom she shared a deep and loving bond. When I read through the selection of sympathy cards to give her, they didn’t resonate with me. They were full of sadness. And they stopped there.
“In sympathy”, and “I’m sorry for your loss.” — are important words. Although, I saw no ray of hope, no lifting of the heart in the gentlest of ways.
I wanted to find words that brought peace and reassurance for the difficult times ahead for her. Something that spoke of the gift her father was to the world, to bring rest to her heavy heart.
As I walked further down the aisle, I saw on the front of a blank card, a giant, magnificent tree, with a massive trunk and a canopy that seemed to stretch endlessly overhead.
I didn’t know why it pulled at me the way it did, but I’m sure the reason would come once I sat down quietly and allowed the powerful image to speak to me. Oh, and did it ever.
This is what came through for me:
Roots of a tree represent people’s heritage.
Richly protected underground, yet powerfully strong and intact.
The trunk ~ represents the individual person.
The branches represent spouses, significant others, children and grandchildren, intricately infused together.
The leaves in their colorful grandeur, represented the outer circle — acquaintances, neighbors, good friends and all who have walked on a person’s path throughout their life. Both sides receiving wisdom, giving perspectives, ideals, opening creative space and helping mold one another as they intertwine tenderness, joy, sadness, laughter, healing and all the experiences that made them who they came to be.
This story changed its direction, and I realized it was more about the legacy we leave behind.
About how a life continues to live through the people it touched.
The ones we love still remain with us.
In the roots,
The trunk,
The branches,
And the leaves.
As I pondered this, I had an Ah-Ha moment. Nature is everywhere, in our homes, along the sidewalks and beside our roads, and suddenly I recognized that something as simple as a tree had been quietly mirroring us all along.
What kind of tree are we becoming?
Are our roots nourished by gratitude or resentment?
Is our trunk standing strong or bent beneath old beliefs?
Do our branches make room for a new growth?
What leaves are we offering to the world around us?
And perhaps most essential…What happens when the seasons change?
Because — trees do not fight the seasons.
They trust them.
How do we handle the change of seasons?
It is the life we live. The people we touch. The love that remains.
Perhaps trees do not spend their lives trying to become something else…they simply continue…
What does our tree reveal about our life?
A life lived fully? A life that leaves roots, branches, shade and seeds behind?
After writing these words, I looked out the window at the trees, Summer is in full bloom, the woods look rich in color and full — like picked wildflowers being put in a vase too small for its vastness. I then stepped outside and leaned against the bark of a tree and found myself wondering what this magnificent part of Mother Nature would say if it could tell the story of its life.
I closed my eyes for a moment and imagined the countless seasons it had quietly witnessed.
Storms.
Summers.
Winters.
Birds nesting.
Children growing.
People coming and going.
Yet, there it stood.
So…
This story is not about death,
but about life.
Thought to Ponder:
If someone looked at the tree of your life today, what would they see?
©Terry Pottinger
