Tall Tree Tales

I hail from a nation where nature is revered and worshiped, where tall old trees are prayed to. Trees have powers to heal, to bestow boons, to cure, to resuscitate the dying and more. I have from childhood loved the greens in nature, maybe that was also because of the very little of it I saw growing up in a busy, dusty metro city, which had huge buildings and houses with tiny little patches of gardens. I loved looking out of the window of a train traveling inter-state, to soak in the greens of jungles, rolling hills or just farmlands. Recently the family and I headed out to a small hill station about an hour and a half away from home for an extended weekend away, which was much needed, especially by me. The place is called Maleny, and we stayed in a lovely little cottage with a fireplace, a fire pit in the yard and a duck pond right behind us. Nature is its own form of therapy, and I think I received it aplenty over the past few days. However, I digress.

There are a lot of beautiful walks and hiking trails around this area, and a lot of beautiful huge trees really caught my attention this time. (The one tree I wish I could spot though, would be a huge Banyan with it hanging roots. That tree spells character to me like no other. Breathing out oxygen at night, creating enormous shade with its huge canopy, the beautifully shaped leaves and the hanging roots.) I just wanted to look at and admire them. Their presence whether in isolation or in a thick rain forest environment, evoked a feeling of awe in me. A part of me wanted to touch it, and connect with it in a deeper way. These trees are obviously very old, I am no botanist, but maybe a hundred years or so would be my guess based on their size (I might be absolutely wrong, so please do not quote me on this). I wondered what they have witnessed and experienced in their many many years of existence. What tales would they share with us if they could? Or maybe they do it in their own way, we only need to open our souls up to receive them. I really wish I had more time, to just sit in the shade of one of them and just breathe in all it had to give. The massive size and yet the stoic stance entranced me. I was amazed I have never before been an enamored by trees as I was these past few days, maybe I will look at them with renewed interest and a deeper love in the future. Do you think you might look at tall old trees, and seek out some wisdom from them?

I am leaving you here with photos of some of the amazing trees I saw.

Within a Rain forest and no matter how far up you look, all you see is the tree.

My five feet four inches tall son stands next to the tree, to show you, just how huge it is.

The huge canopy. Imagine the amount of shade on a hot sunny day.

People, to show how enormous the tree is.

 

Eaten by termites from within. Showing how everything in nature that has life shall one day lose its physical form.