Pine Trees
Being a Floridian (say of us what you will), there's one thing we all have in common: far more experience than we'd like in dealing with hurricanes. Every year, I have my own personal routine of preparing for a storm with my family—moving things inside, doing yard work, gathering essential supplies, and then picking up debris afterward. But then there's the storm itself—the waiting, the watching, and the worrying. This is the in-between time, the aimlessness of being stuck inside while the world outside tears itself apart. This is the time when I take glimpses at that world and watch the pine trees.
It always astounds me how, even though we as human beings are part of nature, we seem so reluctant to be a part of it. We give ourselves these complexes and tell ourselves that we exist outside of, or even above, the natural world. But in doing so, we distance ourselves from the way we are meant to be, forcing ourselves into an unnatural rhythm. This isn't some holistic plea for people to go out and start living like cavemen—evolution is natural too. What it is, is a reminder that sometimes, when you need to find something—whether it's an answer, an object, or yourself—the best place to look is back at the beginning, at the root.
There's a stand of pine trees that grow right behind my house. Those are the ones I watch during the hurricane. There are five, and they are all about as tall as a three-story building. During storms, especially strong storms, they shake, sway, and bend in the wind. But even if they lose branches, I have never seen one break. What I have seen is plenty of fallen oak trees. After storms, the entire neighborhood goes out to clean them up off the street so cars can go through. These trees fall from the root, taking dirt and anything else near them with them too. The shorter, stouter oak falls when the tall pine doesn't.
Burden—what do you burden yourself with? What do others place upon you? Do you feel in control? Do any of us? We carry our burdens day to day and let them weigh us down until we don't have the strength to stand anymore. We become sad and lonely because we don't give anyone else a chance to enter our lives, fearing they will inherit our issues. Burdens and responsibilities are okay, but not like this. Learning how to shed our unnecessary worries and burdens is not easy, but it's something we all need to do. Sometimes it takes a pair of sharp shears, and sometimes it takes a bit of patience, but it is possible.
I love watching those five pines, seeing all the shelter they provide to animals, and especially the shade they give on a hot summer's day. No matter how much wind they face, they still stand tall. Why? Not just because they have no heavy limbs overburdened with leaves to hold them back, but also because they have roots that spread far and wide, interlocking with each other and the earth to help them stand tall. Roots that are underground, unseen, but always there—holding them up, helping them grow, connecting them, and connecting us.
