We are all aware of the toll that rampant individualism and our navel-gazing “me” culture has wrought upon us. Many of us are waking up to the fact that personal growth without a concurrent social engagement is not only unsustainable, it is in fact harmful. Simultaneously, many of us are becoming painfully aware that if we focus just on the “we,” without also cultivating and refining the “I,” we often enter community spaces with way too much baggage. And then, regardless of our best intentions, our unresolved “personal stuff” ends up sowing confusion and discord in groups. What we need is a more mature and balanced interplay of our “I” and “We” consciousness.
Trees offer us a great metaphor for this balanced relationship. Trees, especially old trees, have roots that go deep into the earth, finding underground springs and rivers to draw nourishment from. And when the storms come, or the snow, or the spring thaw, it is these roots that anchor the tree and keep it steady and firmly grounded. And, as a tree grows and matures, it becomes host to a million lifeforms that live on it, and off it. The birds that nest on it, the critters that find home in its nooks and crannies, and all the beings that rest in its shade and feed off its bounty.
And… a tree does not go it solo. Recent research has shown the presence of “wood wide web” - a complex underground web of roots, fungi and bacteria that exist beneath every forest and wood, helping to connect trees and plants to one another. These extensive mycorrhizal networks [Greek words for fungus (mykós) and root (riza)] serve not only as symbiotic exchange conduits for nutrients, but also as “social networks” where plants and trees support each other as needed, and transmit information (e.g., impending aphid attacks) to facilitate the well-being of the forest as a whole.
During this gathering, we will look deep into the ecosystem of trees, in the hope of garnering some lessons on how we can live better, and more inclusively, in community.