Rural Banter

Author: ERICA GOODMAN

Once there was a giving tree ~ Shel Silverstein

While off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz, Dorthoy and company are grabbed by irritable trees as the girl from Kansas attempts to take apples from their branches. Indian mythology describes the Tree of the Sun and the Moon that was believed to have told the future. One side of the trunk would talk at a time to answer any questions asked of it; in the daytime, the tree spoke as a male and at night as a female. The ancient Druids consulted Oak trees as if they were oracles and in Ireland, trees are said to help the greedy search for a leprechaun's gold. The Garden of Eden was the fertile ground of which Adam and Eve lost access to the Tree of Life and Immortality once they ate fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. The Great Deku Tree of "The Legend of Zelda" fame, is the 'father of the forest,' keeping careful watch over the animated Kokiri Forest. And of course, Washington proved his honorable nature when he admitted to chopping down the cherry tree and young Johnny Appleseed's notoriety was cultivated along with the apple orchards he laid out across the land.

Within a world riddled with chaos and instability since the moment of its conception, trees have signified constancy and wisdom. They have stood and continue to stand as symbols of aged knowledge and a hopeful branch into the future. Sturdy arbors offer protection and a quiet place to rest for those who settle beneath the boughs under the greenwood tree. We climb trees and cut trees and build our houses of wood. And whether a tree grows in Brooklyn or in the center of Yellowstone Park, it is our connection to nature and to the vitality of seemingly everlasting life.

Approaching Goodmanor farm, it is difficult to miss the ancient maple that dominates the front lawn of my grandmother's house. Now, it reminds me of home and of family, but I did not realize as a child playing beneath the weary and crooked arbor that it, in fact, understands the mystery of life. Like any maple, the old tree metamorphoses with every season, beginning the year naked of leaves, sprouting new growth in the spring and maturing in summer before wilting away come fall. Within this cyclical life rests the secret to happiness in our own existence: the ability to accept change and the unexpected. We may enjoy our time but getting caught in the past or worrying about the future only works to detract from the present moment. Change is inevitable and we may all rest assured predicting the probable paths our lives may take. Yet the exact fingerprint of life is unpredictable, minor details changing every day from the roots up.

Still the tree remains a tree.

And…

Oh, the trees was happy.

Oh, the tree was glad.