The Universe Inside a Tree
11/11/2025
The girl asked, “is the tree sad to lose its leaves?”
The master paused, “nothing is lost.”
The girl replied, “I have watched this tree every year. I watch the tree grow new leaves each spring. I watch the tree hold its leaves all summer. Then I watch every leaf change color and fall to the ground.”
The master smiled, “there is no such thing as a tree without its leaves.”
"Master, I have watched you admire the falling leaves, even helped you collect them for your paintings. Please don’t play these word games with me today.”
The master laughed, “you watch leaves appear in the tree, so you believe this is their beginning. You watch the tree hold leaves, so you believe this is where they belong. You watch leaves fall, so you believe something is lost...
You watch, but you do not see."
The girl stared at the tree and all the leaves beneath it, "what am I to see?"
The girl asked, “is the tree sad to lose its leaves?”
The master paused, “nothing is lost.”
The girl replied, “I have watched this tree every year. I watch the tree grow new leaves each spring. I watch the tree hold its leaves all summer. Then I watch every leaf change color and fall to the ground.”
The master smiled, “there is no such thing as a tree without its leaves.”
"Master, I have watched you admire the falling leaves, even helped you collect them for your paintings. Please don’t play these word games with me today.”
The master laughed, “you watch leaves appear in the tree, so you believe this is their beginning. You watch the tree hold leaves, so you believe this is where they belong. You watch leaves fall, so you believe something is lost...
You watch, but you do not see."
The girl stared at the tree and all the leaves beneath it, "what am I to see?"
The master, looking into the sky, "soon, snow will fall. The leaves will freeze together and insulate the soil beneath the trees, home to the worm.
The worm will feed on the leaves and use their dense matting for warmth and protection.
As winter deepens, water will move out of the tree, into the soil, and into the cold air, condensing into ice crystals to become the cloud. The cloud will make snow and deliver it back to the forest floor, providing more insulation for the worm.
In spring, the snow will melt. The water will move back into the soil and bind with all the nutrients made by the worm from eating the leaf. The nutrient water will move back into the tree. And the tree will continue, as will the worm and the cloud.
So you see. There is no such thing as a tree without its leaves."
The worm will feed on the leaves and use their dense matting for warmth and protection.
As winter deepens, water will move out of the tree, into the soil, and into the cold air, condensing into ice crystals to become the cloud. The cloud will make snow and deliver it back to the forest floor, providing more insulation for the worm.
In spring, the snow will melt. The water will move back into the soil and bind with all the nutrients made by the worm from eating the leaf. The nutrient water will move back into the tree. And the tree will continue, as will the worm and the cloud.
So you see. There is no such thing as a tree without its leaves."
The girl was beginning to understand.
The master paused, "it is easy to see life in all its forms, and separate it into parts, to see beginnings and ends. But this is not seeing deeply enough.
To see deeper, is to see there is no such thing as a tree without the worm or the cloud. There is no such thing as a worm without the cloud or tree. And there is no such thing as the cloud without the tree or the worm."
The master reached into his bag and handed the girl an apple. The girl took a big bite.
The master continued, "to see at all, is to see all life inside all life.
Ever flowing, ever changing; ever expressing itself in an infinite array of forms."
The girl finished her bite, "so to care for one tree, is to care for the entire universe."
Master smiled, "now you are seeing deeply."
The master paused, "it is easy to see life in all its forms, and separate it into parts, to see beginnings and ends. But this is not seeing deeply enough.
To see deeper, is to see there is no such thing as a tree without the worm or the cloud. There is no such thing as a worm without the cloud or tree. And there is no such thing as the cloud without the tree or the worm."
The master reached into his bag and handed the girl an apple. The girl took a big bite.
The master continued, "to see at all, is to see all life inside all life.
Ever flowing, ever changing; ever expressing itself in an infinite array of forms."
The girl finished her bite, "so to care for one tree, is to care for the entire universe."
Master smiled, "now you are seeing deeply."
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Author: Nicholas Patterson ISA Board Certified Master Arborist ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified ISA Certified Tree Worker Climber Specialist Nicholas has twenty years of experience cultivating trees in the urban forests of the Rocky Mountain Region! |