BEAUTY OF BLOOD AND TREES

Greetings dear readers! Well, for a second week in a row, my blood counts prevented chemo - this adventure has led me to think about our amazing river of life, our blood. I am fascinated by the connection through blood we have with our world and our universe. The heart - lung system is really quite a wonder - and as we as a species have learned more about our physical system and it's relationship to the broader systems of life and energy, we are now able to use it to repair and replenish our physical selves.

The oxygen - carbon dioxide connection has always intrigued me. I love the fact that this system connects me to trees! I give them CO2, they give me oxygen - a mutual life giving exchange. I thank about trees on a daily basis! (Hug them whenever possible...) Through my friend at the Unitarian fellowship/sisterhood, Ray, I am learning more about the amazing variety of trees on our planet - each with its own special gift. Ray is the Tree Director at Groundworks, a RI organization that supports gardening and tree planting in the city, particulary in lower income neighborhoods and parks. Would that as a species we were as mutually supportive as we are with trees! A revolutionary thought! My friend Bill Coffin in Atlanta, an arborist, has been fighting that city since they fired him after he reported incidents in which big construction developers were paying off members of the city arborist team to allow them to cut down trees and build in the city. And then there is the tragedy of big corporate greed and the rain forests...

So I am feeling kinship with trees. In my meditation group this week, our leader provided a guided meditation that took us to a place where we could feel safe and comforted: a vision came to me of a home in a tree trunk - a cozy magical space like the residence of Winnie the Pooh.

I realize that my affection for trees comes from their double function: roots that keep us grounded, boughs reach up that provide a launching spot when we want to fly. I am at the moment looking out at our amazing maple tree next to our driveway: the boughs and leaves are dancing in a breeze that suggests impending rain; robins and sparrows come in for landings, dart off to another leafy perch; the sun comes from behind a cloud and light reaches through the green spaces. May we keep grounded yet fly towards mutual support, community and life!