The title for this little inspirational piece may be daunting. Most folks know what the two words, vast and mystery, mean. It might be a little difficult to define mystery, but we think we know what it means. But that other word---symbiotic---is a stopper. It is not a word I would use in a speech, unless I immediately planned to define it. So let’s do that right now. Symbiotic means, according to the dictionary, interaction between two organisms. I recognize that the word is a compound Greek word in derivation. The “sym” part means “with” and the “bio” part means “life.” So symbiotic means life with or life together. Now, that was not so bad, right?
I take the phrase from a little essay my acquaintance and, maybe friend, Belden Lane recently wrote. He entitles it, “Listening to the Trees.” If you know anything about Lane, you would know he is a now-retired professor of spirituality. He has written more than one book on spirituality and nature. He is a wonderfully insightful and articulate man. When I have been with him, I always feel like we have so much in common and, yet, he does things with spirituality that I don’t.
I love the opening line of the essay. “For twenty-five years I’ve had a practice of praying with a 100-year-old cottonwood tree in the park across the street from my house.” (137) I laughed when Lane tells us he calls the tree “Grandfather.” But that is exactly how Lane relates to nature and lives spirituality. I like nature, but I assume I simply have a different relationship with it. This is where Lane challenges me and brings me up short.
Cleverly, Lane wants to use the idea of trees to describe how he thinks they are like humans. Let’s follow his path. He makes a number of points, the first point being, “We’re in this together.” Immediately, he adds that “You aren’t alone.” He uses the image of 47,000 trees in aspen grove in Utah to portray how all humans are linked. He claims all these trees are “actually a single organism.” They all share a common root system. And humans are like this. We are “integral parts of a large family unite---a superorganism.”
Lane wrote this essay during the Covid time. He felt like we could learn from the trees. He comments, “Note how trees care for each other.” (138) You may or may not have notice that, but let’s take his word for it. He wants to use this as an analogy for what humans do for each other---at least, when we are at our best. He is sure trees can be our teachers. He says about trees, “They regularly communicate with each other from a distance, sharing information and nutrients along underground fungal networks connecting their roots.” He describes them in more detail and then declares that they are generous!
Even in Covid time with social distancing and all that, Lane wants to suggest we can learn and imitate trees. We can interact with each other. Our humanity is our common root system. It is not just the neighbor down the street, but the person living half-way around the globe. He notes that “trees are survivors.” The implication is so are we humans. Of course, many folks died during Covid time---sadly so. Some trees die, too. But overall humanity and trees are survivors. And like trees, humans can be generous.
I very much appreciate Belden Lane’s next point. He admonishes us, “Be bold in your hope for the future.” (139) He goes into some detail about how trees make abundant cones, acorns, etc. during times of threat. He informs us that “Nature has a way of anticipating unexpected needs.” I cherish his conclusion. “There will be a future…for all of us. Life is insistent.” I need this reminder from time to time. When things get tough, it is easy to get down.
It is easy to lose hope. When we lose hope, we lose our future. Hope is how we have a future. I am grateful for Lane reminding me that life is insistent. I love that idea. It is as if life has a mind of its own. And I believe, in part, it does. Life is more than just me; it is all of us. I am only a single person---a single tree---in a larger forest of human beings. We are all connected and if we are true to our nature, can be generous with each other.
If we are Christian and Lane is, then we can take this idea straight to the theme of the body of Christ. I am more than willing to include others who would not even claim to be theologically Christian. I think this is what Jesus would likely do. I think of the Apostle Paul’s description and discussion of the idea of the body of Christ. He tells us we each are only a part of the whole body. But we are part of the whole body. We may have different functions, but we are part of a larger living organism---the body of Christ.
This can be related to the church, but it is more than church. Or it is part of the universal, invisible church. It certainly is not limited to a local congregation---as good and important as they are. I like the idea of being part of a large, universal, inclusive body. I like the analogy of being part of a larger forest.
And we are all hooked together---symbiotically. It is vast. And I can’t explain it; it is mystery---a vast symbiotic mystery.
I take the phrase from a little essay my acquaintance and, maybe friend, Belden Lane recently wrote. He entitles it, “Listening to the Trees.” If you know anything about Lane, you would know he is a now-retired professor of spirituality. He has written more than one book on spirituality and nature. He is a wonderfully insightful and articulate man. When I have been with him, I always feel like we have so much in common and, yet, he does things with spirituality that I don’t.
I love the opening line of the essay. “For twenty-five years I’ve had a practice of praying with a 100-year-old cottonwood tree in the park across the street from my house.” (137) I laughed when Lane tells us he calls the tree “Grandfather.” But that is exactly how Lane relates to nature and lives spirituality. I like nature, but I assume I simply have a different relationship with it. This is where Lane challenges me and brings me up short.
Cleverly, Lane wants to use the idea of trees to describe how he thinks they are like humans. Let’s follow his path. He makes a number of points, the first point being, “We’re in this together.” Immediately, he adds that “You aren’t alone.” He uses the image of 47,000 trees in aspen grove in Utah to portray how all humans are linked. He claims all these trees are “actually a single organism.” They all share a common root system. And humans are like this. We are “integral parts of a large family unite---a superorganism.”
Lane wrote this essay during the Covid time. He felt like we could learn from the trees. He comments, “Note how trees care for each other.” (138) You may or may not have notice that, but let’s take his word for it. He wants to use this as an analogy for what humans do for each other---at least, when we are at our best. He is sure trees can be our teachers. He says about trees, “They regularly communicate with each other from a distance, sharing information and nutrients along underground fungal networks connecting their roots.” He describes them in more detail and then declares that they are generous!
Even in Covid time with social distancing and all that, Lane wants to suggest we can learn and imitate trees. We can interact with each other. Our humanity is our common root system. It is not just the neighbor down the street, but the person living half-way around the globe. He notes that “trees are survivors.” The implication is so are we humans. Of course, many folks died during Covid time---sadly so. Some trees die, too. But overall humanity and trees are survivors. And like trees, humans can be generous.
I very much appreciate Belden Lane’s next point. He admonishes us, “Be bold in your hope for the future.” (139) He goes into some detail about how trees make abundant cones, acorns, etc. during times of threat. He informs us that “Nature has a way of anticipating unexpected needs.” I cherish his conclusion. “There will be a future…for all of us. Life is insistent.” I need this reminder from time to time. When things get tough, it is easy to get down.
It is easy to lose hope. When we lose hope, we lose our future. Hope is how we have a future. I am grateful for Lane reminding me that life is insistent. I love that idea. It is as if life has a mind of its own. And I believe, in part, it does. Life is more than just me; it is all of us. I am only a single person---a single tree---in a larger forest of human beings. We are all connected and if we are true to our nature, can be generous with each other.
If we are Christian and Lane is, then we can take this idea straight to the theme of the body of Christ. I am more than willing to include others who would not even claim to be theologically Christian. I think this is what Jesus would likely do. I think of the Apostle Paul’s description and discussion of the idea of the body of Christ. He tells us we each are only a part of the whole body. But we are part of the whole body. We may have different functions, but we are part of a larger living organism---the body of Christ.
This can be related to the church, but it is more than church. Or it is part of the universal, invisible church. It certainly is not limited to a local congregation---as good and important as they are. I like the idea of being part of a large, universal, inclusive body. I like the analogy of being part of a larger forest.
And we are all hooked together---symbiotically. It is vast. And I can’t explain it; it is mystery---a vast symbiotic mystery.
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