I think that I shall never see / a poem lovely as a tree

sunrise:  6:08 am
Madison, WI

Another airport sunrise (see Florida departure).  It is getting lighter behind a sleepy daughter in the airport terminal.

The sun over the runway...

...and in the air.

But what I really wanted to write about today is trees, so I'm adding a photo of a Minnesotan tree for inspiration:

T remarked on my love of trees the other day, since I keep pointing them out everywhere we go.  It is not just their intricate architecture and expression outlined against various versions of sky light.  It is everything about them.  I love the way they act as harbingers of every season, and bring a sense of beauty and accomodation to all times of year.  They reach up to the heavens in a constant striving and celebration of life.  They are solid, patiently steadfast, powerful, nurturing, deeply rooted into the earth, resourceful, tenacious.  They house animals, hold up swings and treehouses, offer safe haven, shade the world from the scorching sun.  They stay put when everything else is transient.  I love to see them, climb them, touch their bark, and feel their solid woody warmth on my hands.  Trees make me feel peaceful and hopeful, everywhere I go. 

When I am working on some of the more difficult weight exercises in my "core work" class, I often have to focus my mind on something in order to get through them - otherwise I strain and shake and can't make it.  The interior visualization that has worked consistently well for me is to imagine I am a tree.  My trunk is a tree trunk, where all of my strength comes from, and my "branches" are not holding themselves, they are held by this trunk, deeply rooted into the ground.   So the powerful branches can reach out, hold up birds in their nests, or monkeys or whomever happens to be sheltering on me at the moment - maybe even a dreamy child sitting in a tree, looking out at the sky.

Yeah, I know.  Weird.  But it works.  I feel stronger and more solid. 

So, yes.  You will often hear me say, "Look at that awesome tree!"  They catch my eye, capture my imagination, and tap into my inner core.