Write It Out: Instruction Video
“There’s a huge tree that she hadn’t noticed the first time she came down here. She stares at it, moving slowly up from trunk to top, so high she can’t even make it out. She is still for a moment, thinking about this tree. It is solid in front of her, and there’s no reason to fear that it will suddenly stop being a tree.
But with the arrival of the slippery knowledge of doubt, she has come to know that this tree does have the potential to lose its treeness. It could be cut down by man or beaver, or felled naturally, by wind or lightning. And once it’s no longer standing, there are practically infinite things it could become. The vastness of paths for this tree, a formerly upright living thing — straight to the sun, its only job to grow — means that it has every choice and also no choice at all. It could become a chair. A house. A toothpick. A book. A box of pencils. A fire in someone’s home, anywhere in the world.
Who put this tree here? Why? Why is it even on this earth; how has it made its way here and survived long enough to get this far? What does that mean — does its time on earth account for something? Who does it belong to?
Sylvia feels dizzy and sad and hopeless. She feels angry with her parents for telling her that a tree was just a tree, because how can she know any answers if she doesn’t even know the questions?”
***
Ahhh, fall. A time to begin to move inward. I think this is one reason why the fall is my favorite time of year – while I do love each season, somehow fall invites me to return back to myself. To begin a review of where I have been over the past year, and of how these things have changed me. To sink into this new knowledge of myself.
At the same time, I can sometimes be too much of a “navel-gazer”, so I also appreciate that activities in the fall seem new again – new because of the backdrop of colours added to hikes, bike rides and paddles. New because they seem more quiet somehow, with fewer people out, and the cooler weather encouraging me to stop and pay attention. Happy fall! If you feel the urge, please do share your thoughts below!
