Trees

Part 1: Trees

Nothing is more important to the health of the tree than the roots.

The embryonic root is the first thing to emerge from the tree seed planted in the ground. It immediately anchors the germinating seed in the ground to provide stability for the future stem. The root also begins absorbing water, which triggers the shoot to emerge and begin growing upward.

Roots ensure that the tree grows upright. They hold the tree in the soil to provide support and they hold the soil around the tree to prevent erosion.

Although most of us think the circumference of the roots mirrors the branches, only about half of the roots grow between the trunk and the drip-line of its canopy. To provide real stability, tree roots usually extend outward three or four times farther than the tree crown/

During the growing season, roots absorb water, oxygen and minerals from the soil and transport them to the rest of the tree. During winter, when growth is dormant, the roots store essential nutrients to provide the energy for the burst of spring foliage.

Without healthy roots, a tree cannot flourish.

Nothing is more important to the health of the tree than the trunk.

Like the roots, the trunk provides support so that the tree can grow tall. Healthy trunks allow trees to grow taller, giving them an advantage over other trees competing for sunlight.

Trunks not only grow taller, but each year the trunk diameter increases as a new layer of wood is added around the old wood. These annual rings are made up of vertical pores, like thousands of closely-packed drinking straws, which carry water and mineral nutrients upwards, against gravity (quite a trick), from the roots to the leaves. This water is required by the leaves to perform photosynthesis as well as to replace the moisture lost from water vapor escaping from the leaves.

The outer dead bark layer provides protection from the environment and prevents injury to the living wood inside the trunk. The inner layer of bark is a thin layer of live tissue that transports nutrients, the sugars photosynthesized by the leaves, downward to the branches and roots.
The trunk is a two-way bridge transporting food and water between the roots and the branches and leaves. It is the life-giving connection going up and down.

Without a healthy trunk, a tree cannot flourish.

Nothing is more important to the health of the tree than the branches and leaves.

Leaves contain the structure for photosynthesis to create “food” for the tree. The leaves trap light energy from the sun and use this energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars and oxygen. The branches are arranged to optimize the exposure of sunlight on the leaves.

While the nutrients and water the roots absorb are essential, over 90% of the tree’s biomass comes from carbon dioxide absorbed from the atmosphere and converted into nutrients by the leaves.

Some sugars are stored in the branches and leaves, and some is transported through the branches and trunk down into the roots.

Without healthy branches and leaves, a tree cannot flourish.

In some ways, nothing is more important to the health of the tree than the roots. In some ways, nothing is more important to the health of the tree than the trunk. In some ways, nothing is more important to the health of the tree than the branches and leaves.

The survival of a tree depends upon the dynamic union of two intrinsically opposite energies…the downward rooting action and the upward rising life force.

The basic function of the roots is to root, that is, to grow roots that anchor the tree into the ground, that preserve the soil around the roots, and that conserve the foundation that ensures the tree has the stability to grow upwards. The more roots there are, and the stronger the connections are between the soil and the roots, the higher the trunk can go, the easier it is for the branches and leaves to spread out, the more energy the leaves absorb from sunlight exposure, the more the tree can grow, and the healthier it is.

But even root energy is not all downward. The roots also pull water, oxygen and minerals upwards from the soil, into the trunk, which raises them up to the canopy.

The basic function of the branches and leaves is to rise, that is to grow higher towards the sun and use photosynthesis to absorb carbon dioxide and liberate oxygen to create sugars. But the leaves and branches also send food (sugar) from the canopy down the trunk to the roots.

Like the roots and the branches and leaves, the trunk is designed to simultaneously fulfill two intrinsically opposite functions…transporting water and minerals up to the leaves, and transporting nutrients down to the roots, providing energy to both the rooting and the rising functions of the tree.

The tree is a beautiful illustration of the Tao, “the inner unity of opposites” (Alan Watts).

The Tao tells us that all things in nature, even us-especially us-are composed of seemingly opposite, but complementary qualities. These opposing forces are bound together, constantly interacting, never achieving perfect equilibrium, both rooted in the mutual whole. This aspect of existence is known as duality.

The “yin-yang” symbol from the Tao represents the concept of this duality in life. The circle represents the whole. The black parts represent “yin” and the white parts represent the contrasting “yang.” The curved boundaries remind us that these opposite forces are inescapably intertwined. The small circle of contrasting color in each large area illustrates that nothing is so pure that it doesn’t contain its opposite within its own heart. The Tao is revealed in the opposing forces of rooting and rising that exist within the human spirit.

Part 2: Dharma

The Sanskrit noun dharma comes from ancient Proto-Indo-European root which mean to fasten, support, hold, maintain, keep, support, bear.

In his book, Essential Hinduism, Steven J. Rosen says the root of the word dharma “is related to the derivative dhru, or dhruva, meaning ‘pole’ – the balancing of extremes through an axis. It refers to that invariable something at the center of the world’s revolutions, holding it in place; the thing that regulates the course of change by not participating in change – by remaining constant.”

In ancient Hindu stories, dharma referred to the cosmic laws that created the universe from chaos.

BK Iyengar teaches that dharma is the science of ethical, social and moral obligations. It defines the established, firm rules for human behavior necessary to preserve order. Dharma is right conduct towards yourself, your family, your community, nature, society and the world.

My yoga teacher, Lisette Hart, teaches that dharma, or fulfilling our duties, is what gives each of our lives purpose, what holds our life in place while the changing world revolves around us.

Our families, dependable friends, purposeful work, secure community…these are the things that ground us and make us feel connected. These are the roots in our life.

What lifts us up in life are those things that invigorate and liberate our souls – taking risks, trying new things, growing, freely expressing our individuality – spreading our branches and positioning our leaves to receive the optimum amount of energy.

The more roots we have and the stronger our connections, the more we can rise up.

The more stability we have in our lives – commitment to loved ones, being bound in community, productive work, self-knowledge – the easier it is to experience life lightly and joyfully.

Sometimes we view our duties and responsibilities as burdens – things that hold us down – but actually they are the things that give us freedom.

Like a tree, we fall down without the support of the things that make us feel connected and give our lives purpose. But without the energy we get from spreading our branches and leaves, we can’t feed those roots.

If our lives are completely devoted to our duties and obligations, without the energy that helps us grow and expand, ultimately our roots will be starved of nourishment and suffer.

Part 3: Culture

We all hold two opposing impulses within us: the need to root to be grounded and the desire to rise to be free. Every day, we experience the interplay of these conflicting feelings – duty versus desire, attachment versus autonomy, commitment to relationships versus personal independence, the need to be bound in community versus the desire to freely express individuality. What we often fail to realize is that other individuals, groups, communities, and countries – even our adversaries – also struggle to reconcile these contradictory forces.

Firm, established rules for right behavior not only help individuals find purpose in their lives and feel connected, they also help preserve order in our society, maintain social stability, and conserve cultural traditions that ground our community as a whole.

Religious and political Conservatives lean towards the natural impulse of rooting. They have faith in the ideals and institutions from the past. They hold fast to belief in original religious texts, authority figures and traditional laws. They have a keen sense of in-group loyalty and they value purity and conformance to the rules. They feel that Truth is permanent. They value stability and want to slow down change.

In contrast, religious and political Liberals lean towards the natural impulse of rising. They encourage change and have faith in the progress of the future. They are suspicious of hierarchy and seek to challenge authority figures and transform institutions that limit freedom. They believe everyone should be free to determine they own beliefs and express themselves freely. They value diversity and seek to include a wide variety of people within their community. They honor contrasting opinions and respect multiple viewpoints.

We like to think of Liberals and Conservatives as completely separate entities, separated by a wide gulf, locked in a battle for total control and we all have to choose sides. We think the winners take all and the losers will be completely destroyed. Today we feel there is no common ground or common cause between these two sides.

Perhaps we think like this because we have been raised with the Old Testament Christian myth of God against Satan, two completely separate entities separated by a wide gulf, and completely distinct from one another. God, the personification of good, and Satan, the personification of evil, are locked in a battle for total control and humans must choose sides. Winners take all…immortal life in heaven. Losers are completely destroyed and banished to hell.

But the Tao teaches us that nothing exists without its opposite. Shadow and Light, Life and Death, Up and Down, Rooting and Rising. There are two sides to a coin. One side cannot exist without the other. Each defines its opposite. One side does not have more value than the other. “Explicit opposition conceals implicit unity.” (Alan Watts).

Liberalism and Conservatism exist as part of a mutual whole on a complex continuum. None of us is completely liberal or conservative. Within the Republican party, there lies a spectrum of beliefs all the way from liberal conservative to conservative conservative. Within the Democratic party, there lies a spectrum of beliefs all the way from liberal liberal to conservative liberal. Have you noticed that the liberal liberals have some things in common with the conservative conservatives? That’s the Tao…the inner unity of opposites!

Sometimes I don’t speak up in a conversation because I don’t want people to know how liberal I am. Sometimes I don’t speak up in a conversation because I don’t want people to know how conservative I am. Sometimes I speak up in a conversation because I want people to know I’m liberal. Sometimes I speak up in a conversation because I want people to know I’m conservative.

We like to think we can label the roots, trunk, branches and leaves on a tree. At first glance we know exactly which each is. But where exactly do the roots end and the trunk begin? Where exactly does the trunk end and the branches begin? Where exactly do the branches end and the leaves begin?

With all the transportation of water, nutrients, sugar and energy up and down the tree, who is to say the cells in the tip of the highest leaves don’t contain the essence of root? Or that the cells in the tip of the deepest root don’t contain the essence of leaf? And that moving up and down the tree hasn’t infused the essence of trunk, and root, and branch and leaf, into every other cell?

It’s even less clear, if we look beyond appearance, and attempt to label each part by its function. The roots, trunk, branches and leaves all have a structure designed to keep the tree reaching toward the sun, growing as straight upwards, as possible. The roots, trunk, branches and leaves also transport and store food and water and they all use them to power growth and expansion.

None of the parts of the tree could survive without the other. Roots nourish leaves and leaves nourish roots. None would have a reason or a purpose to survive if the others did not exist. As much as we would like to divide the tree into its physical parts and its functions, we really can’t, because its existence depends on all of its connected parts working together.

Would a leaf ever battle for the complete destruction of the roots? Would the roots ever want to see the leaves completely defeated? Although energy may ebb and flow between the rooting and rising functions of the tree in response to conditions of the environment, could the life force of the tree ever value one over the other?

Rather than choosing sides and identifying as a Conservative or Liberal, we should identify with the roles we want to play, conserving or liberating, and recognize that in each situation, we may be playing a different part…sometimes pressing the gas pedal to speed up change…other times pushing on brake pedal to slow down change…sometimes sending energy down to the roots, other times sending energy up to the leaves…in response to current conditions of the environment, rather than to support or defeat a political party.

We can put our energy to work with the awareness that the gift of the Tao to the universe is that neither side will ever achieve 100% success. Liberals point the way but will never get their way as fast as they want. Conservatives anchor the culture but can never bring it to a complete stop. Instead of hoping that our side will “win” and prosper and the other side will “lose” and wither, we can recognize, and be grateful, that the safest place for our culture lies between the polar extremes. Unchecked liberalism leads to revolution. Unchecked conservatism leads to Totalitarianism.

Freedom, whether economic or moral, without corresponding responsibility leads to an unhealthy culture-all branches and no roots…certain to fall down. Liberals want individual freedom when it comes to morals, but expect community responsibility when it comes to economic issues. Absolute moral freedom without the structure of moral and legal controls (without a conscience) leads to anarchy, a hazardous place for all.

Conservatives want individual freedom on economic issues, but expect community responsibility on morals. Absolute economic freedom without the structure of moral and legal controls (without a conscience) leads to oppression of the poor. History has shown that anger over prolonged exploitation ultimately leads to revolution and bloodshed, a hazardous place for all.

In the year 1213, the Fourth Lateran Council declared, “It is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds.”

Perhaps we can use the image of a tree to think of the Trinity in a new way. Think of God as the roots, the anchor, the foundation – the force behind cosmic law, the firm, established rules for human behavior that conserve order and create a stable foundation for humanity. Like the trunk, which transports essential nutrients between the roots and the leaves, we can think of Jesus as the bridge between the traditional order and the change the world needed. Jesus is love, compassion, transformation. Love is the rule that trumps all others. Like the branches and leaves of the tree, the Holy Spirit represents the spirit inside us that moves us to use our energy to change the world, to reach out and convert the fundamentals of the universe into something life and soul sustaining for all humankind.

~ Written in October 2015