In The Forest

Together The Forest Holds

I am intrigued by the idea that the trees of a forest work together via communication, growth, and reaching for the heights—all by way of an interweaving of their root systems.

The trees talk to one another even as the Ents of Tolkien hold their prolonged and sequestered gatherings (Entmoots). My interest is also piqued by the fact that walking in a forest enlivens one’s health and lifts the spirit. Apparently, in Japan folk pay good money to be taken on a forest walk to resist the pressures of the human overcast! I can say a hearty ‘Amen’ to this truth as I recently enjoyed the respite of a forest walk in the County.

The same truth holds true for a forest of individuals who live together in community. As Bonhoeffer once mused, “When I am weak you are strong and when you are weak I am strong”—or more clearly “When the Christ in me is weak, the Christ in you is strong and when the Christ in you is weak, the Christ in me is strong.” We lift each other up as we meet, sing, work, and play together.

Application #1: Don’t be a hermit who sits alone in front of a TV screen. Rather soak up the positive vibrations which emanate from working together as a community of people. Of course, to do this we have to put up with the peccadillos of community members. Too often we resemble the sea anemone that reaches upward for the sun’s rays but quickly recedes when it experiences any degree of resistance.

Application #2: Don’t give up. You will be a happier person if you spend time in life’s forests—trees and humans—even as my Irish compatriot Van Morrison muses with his beckoning tune…