Of all of nature, I love trees the most. They are the singular plant species that has the highest importance to our Mother Earth. They are the singular plant species that gives the most to all other species – wood for building, nut and seed for food, fuel for burning for warmth and heat, shade for respite, shelter and residence to animal and bird species, but of utmost import to us all – oxygen. Trees breathe in carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen, (it is thus for all plants, trees being the largest of the plant world and therefore the greatest contributor), creating and cleaning the very air we all need to survive.

Another marvelous aspect of trees is that they have the capability to be pretty much Immortal. Take away fire, insect infestation and human intervention, trees can and will and do live for hundreds of years - well beyond our ability to witness their demise. The giant sequoia redwoods have testified to that for generation upon generation.

Not only are trees such a supreme contributor to our and our planet’s well-being – they are beautiful, graceful, strong and regal companions to us as well. Their form in summertime with branches filled with leaves and life, swaying in the breezes, comforts us. Their form in winter’s deepest cold, bare of foliage, is majestic, with each curving arc of limb, branch and twig visible to our eye. Trees gift the world with a serene peacefulness. Who can walk down a wooded path and truly not feel ‘The Peace which passes all understanding’? Trees exude peacefulness. Their purpose is to balance the energies of this planet and when our energies are in balance, we are naturally at peace with ourselves and our world. With their silent strength and steadfastness they have watched over us for hundreds of years and they will be here to befriend our future generations for eons to come. We owe them much.

A year ago I had the great pleasure of visiting the state of Connecticut for a week. This state LOVES their trees. They have very stringent laws about tree conservation and the felling of any tree outside of the parameters of the law is subject to fines up to $5,000. As my flight approached the airport in Hartford, I looked out the window and saw absolutely nothing but tree canopy. No roads, no cars, no rooftops, nothing but trees stretching for thousands of acres. Driving from the airport to my destination, I observed how the trees come right up to edge of the roadways. No wide, clear ditches between road and tree line there. This had been my second trip to Connecticut and once again I was amazed at the size of the trees there. There are forests full of trees here too, but the trees here are dwarfed by the ones in Connecticut. One can get neck strain by trying to see to the top of them. The entire week I was there last year was superimposed by the sense of the mystic from these powerful giants of the earth. If you have never been there – please plan a trip at least once in your lifetime. The peacefulness exuded by the trees of Connecticut is palpable and permeates every wooded acre.

But I digress.

Out of all the trees that I love, I am most drawn to the Oak. I have no clue as to why, but be that as it may – the oak tree draws me completely, sometimes even literally taking my breath away with its beauty. Unlike other tree species, most of whom have a predictable, symmetrical form or architecture, the oak grows any which way it wants to. Huge limbs grow not only upward and outward, but sometimes sideways, downward or at angles. I marvel at how such huge and heavy limbs can grow at downward, jutting angles and not break off from the main trunk due to their own weight.

Peering upward into the interior of the mass of limbs and trunks, I can see branches overlapping and intertwining, almost as if each singular appendage proclaims its right to develop where and how it chooses to. What independence! What courage! And at the very tip of each of these, leaves grow in a mop top arrangement in great bunches, like a cheerleaders pompoms. As if they are saying to the world, “See what I did? See how fantastic and independent my growth is? Yay!”, and then shaking their pompoms in exuberant celebration of simply being alive.

There is a mysticism about the oak that no other tree possesses, at least for me . A sense of Presence, of Strength, of Wisdom and of Peace. For hundreds of years they have shown us the examples of perseverance, of independence, of strength and adaptability, and of a steadfast love of our Mother Earth. The Oak invites my soul to sing, encourages my mind to rest, hugs my heart with its total love and sometimes makes me weep with joy for its exuberance. I have never been able to explain this power the Oak has over me, even to myself. I can only accept it and give thanks for it. I am truly awestruck in its presence.

I am honored that along my sixty-mile commute to work and back each day, I pass by and through great stands of ancient oak trees. I greet them as I go by and visualize myself showering them with the violet flame of pure love. This morning was an exceptional experience when, in framing a morning greeting to a stand of oaks out in a field to my left, I received a joyous, harmonious chorus of “good morning” in return. I know that in my journeys back and forth this coming winter, no matter the weather, the mighty oaks will be there to guide and protect me as I travel.

The mystic oak has much to teach us, if we would take the time to listen, to observe and to learn.