YOU, TREE, INSPIRE ME

By breathing so the world can breath,

you inspire me to live with such symbiotic generosity.

By spreading your branches so birds can sing in your spaces,

you inspire me to expand all of my being for others.

By creating crooks and crannies where little ones can nest,

you inspire me to be a homing place for the children of all.

By holding fast the ground between and beneath your feet,

you inspire me to send roots deep into the soil of community.

By seeding acorns and chestnuts, pinecones and samaras,

you inspire me to give of my lifeblood for future generations.

By bending to breezes and dancing through storms,

you inspire me to live in harmony in the midst of adversity.

By glorifying skies with greens and golds, oranges and reds,

you inspire me to delight in sharing my colors with the world.

By blessing with beauty the eyes of creatures great and small,

you inspire me to see and celebrate the bedazzling in all.

By giving shelter and sanctuary to eagle and chickadee alike,

you inspire me to live without prejudice, bias or ism.

By living with dignity be it summer, winter, spring or fall,

you inspire me to trust beyond this moment of my life.

By sharing your leaves with creatures of the soil beneath you,

you inspire me to provide for those I neither see nor know

By blooming where you are, be it mountaintop, plane or valley,

you inspire me to hallow my present station in life.

By offering shade to all that lie beneath your canopy,

you inspire me to rise up and embody compassion for all.

By gifting the world with your presence in life and in death,

you inspire me to do the same.