A few years ago, I took a course on journaling and mindfulness. Each week we were assigned various mindfulness exercises and wrote about our responses to them. I remember one exercise in particular. It was simply to notice trees. And suddenly, there was a forest everywhere. I would look down from a shopping center window onto the parking lot and notice trees at the periphery and in the distance. Manhattan became filled with trees.
I realized what majesty exists before our very eyes. Trees are wise and gracious and patient. And simply awe-inspiring. And everywhere! It is a great exercise.
I reviewed my notes from the course and here are people’s responses to my post about noticing trees:
- Actress Judi Dench has made a film called My Passion for Trees.
- Have you ever tried forest bathing?
- Check out the tree pose in yoga and see what it feels like to embody one.
- Tolkien loved trees. He wrote about the power and wisdom of trees in The Lord of the Rings [ed. a book I still haven’t read].
- Tree drawing interpretation is a psychological test.
Wishing you a healthy and inspiring Tu B’Shvat!
