Let's Try Again: The New Tree Reflection
Here is your NEW + improved tree reflection in video and in writing (with good sound quality). Because reflection works even amidst tech glitches!
Hi there!
This week’s newsletter is being sent anew….because of tech glitches!
I was humbled when a friend kindly pointed out that the video I recorded of a special tree reflection exercise had poor sound quality. That was my moment to reflect (we all fail at times) and breathe (hey, let’s try this again).
That said, I’ve improved the sound quality and uploaded the video once again for you below. I hope you get to watch and participate this time. Some pointers:
If you want to take it up a notch, do this tree reflection exercise around a tree in a park/in your garden.
If videos are not your thing, feel free to scroll down and read the post in the shape of a story instead.
Do share what you think of the exercise with me in the comments, and if you’d like more of these (Hint: they’ll be a part of the live monthly reflection sessions for paid members).
Video of The Tree Reflection
The Tree Reflection in Words
Today, I'm going to share a beautiful exercise that I call the tree reflection. I hope you really like it, because I think it's applicable to everyone in every stage of their life. So, without further ado, let's get started.
In the video I recorded for you, you will see a beautiful tree. Now, when you look at this tree, you will also see the beautiful sunshine that its leaves are reflecting. You will see that it was planted very long ago along the side of the road, and it is now on the pedestrian walkway.
You'll see people sitting around the tree. Do you see that gentleman on the bench? You'll see cars driving past, and you'll see pedestrians walking around, and you'll see buses.
The tree is leaning a little bit to the right. The trees around it are also bending in a particular way, and they have their own way of reflecting light. This is an urban tree. It has been here many, many years before I even moved to Barcelona, which was about seven years ago.
Every morning, I open the window to look at this tree. Every season, it shows me how the seasons are changing, and how sunny or how cold it is getting. When it starts losing its leaves, I feel a bit sad because I know it's time for autumn, and soon after that, winter. But this tree has also taught me some very big lessons, which I'm going to share with you today to help you reflect.
I was watching the Mahabharata the other day, and I've been watching it for the past month and a half. One of the things that was shared in the Mahabharata is that you're not a tree. You can move.
A tree is not as useful as we think it is. Yes, it gives us paper. Yes, it gives us lumber. But it has no free will. It cannot grow as tall as it likes, unless it is in the woods. It cannot move in a direction that it likes unless a human being decides to move it, but that usually means uprooting it, and uprooting means killing it.
Which also reminds me of a story from a long time back. In 2013, I had gone to Dubai to take a culinary course. While I was in Dubai, I was so fascinated by the fruits that were available in the Middle East. I wanted to bring back some memories for my parents because this was the first time one of us was actually going there. I tried the dates, and they were mind-blowing. I brought some Medjool dates back for my father, and I had also kept some seeds from the Medjool dates that I had eaten while I was in Dubai.
He very keenly planted them. And to our surprise, they grew! They became full-fledged, tall date trees all the way in South America, where dates are unheard of!
We were surprised. And we waited, and we waited, and we waited. Years passed, but the trees bore no fruit. Even though they were tall, even though they seemed healthy, even though they seemed strong. It surprised us. But actually, it didn't surprise us so much, because they were not in the soil that they needed to be in.
Of course, the nutrients that they had in their country of origin were not available in South America. So, because they were getting partial nutrition, they were able to live and survive, but bearing fruit, thriving, procreating was not possible for them. And that is a big lesson I want to share with you today.
Humans are very similar to trees like that. We think we can survive in every atmosphere, in every place that we go to. We move ourselves to foreign lands, to foreign places. Sometimes, that works. Sometimes, these places are just what we need, or so similar to where we come from that we thrive. We become a big tree, we have big branches, we spread out our roots and resettle, and we bear fruit. We care for the environment, and we make the world a better place with our presence.
But there are also times when we succumb to the environment. We feel like we are tolerated, and we're just there because we are trees. We have nothing else to do.
If you look at this tree in the video, it’s sort of leaning to the right in the picture, and you can see that, possibly, it is not so strong. Maybe, if there's a fierce wind someday, it might collapse, it might fall, it might break—which sometimes happens with tree trunks. They break because of harsh winds. Also, it has limited space; if you look where the roots are, it has only one small circle there. It can't even spread out its roots if it wants to. It can't become stronger. And it has to weather every storm that passes it.
So now, I want you to envision yourself as a tree by asking:
Where you are right now?
What do you consider your soil?
Do your soil, your environment, your community, and your domestic life provide nutrition for you, or are they actually depriving you of what you need?
And next, I would like you to look at your roots. What are you putting into the earth, and what are you giving back?
Where is your strength and where is it coming from? In other words: Are you getting the nutrition you need?
And are you giving back oxygen to the environment with your deeds, with your thoughts, with your love, and with your kindness?
There's also something else that you need to consider. Remember what I told you about the Mahabharata? You are not a tree. You can move.
There's a beautiful quote that I will share with you today. When I read this many years ago, it helped me make a crucial decision to move away from South America and move halfway across the world to Europe for my studies, to finally settle in Spain.
That quote was: "Don't stay where you are tolerated. Go where you are celebrated." So, you're not a tree. You can move. Don't stay where you are tolerated. Go where you are celebrated. (Note: there is a lot of confusion on who the author of this quote is, so if you find out, please share it with me)
And when you have any moment of doubt, ask yourself: What is working out in your life?
Remember the date tree story I told you? Sometimes you will have the environment to gain height but not bear fruit. It depends on what you want, and it depends on whether you're seen as an invasive species or a welcome species. You decide.
I hope that you have liked this tree reflection. Stay tuned for more!
Intriguing piece. Loved it. 🍷