Found this on Amazing Pictures’ facebook page, had to share! I’m a long time tree-hugger; some of these look like they’ll hug back!
Tag Archives: trees
What is the Importance of a Tree?
A few days ago, when I went to the Light Center because I was ill, I was thinking about the mountains. The trees were soaring over head and the air was so clean and fresh. I thought about how amazing it must have been to have traveled here 100-200 years ago. I was looking at the trees and wondering how long they had been there. Below are some of the pictures I took.
Veterans of Foreign Wars asked the government to set aside a fitting stand of trees to the memory of Joyce Kilmer. Kilmer was both a WWI soldier and a poet. He is remembered most for his nature poetry and his poem “Trees.”
Trees
I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet
flowing breast.
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray.
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair.
Upon whose bosom snow has lain.
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
—Joyce Kilmer
Evergreens. Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio, 2014
“Let my mind bear sweet fruit and
fragrant flowers,
as this tree is planted of the soil of Thy spirit.
—with branches downwards:
I see Thy hand
blessing me
—-rising upwards.
in the night:
My heart stands in waiting and hope
as the trees stand through the darkness of night.”
—Hazrat Inayat Khan
The trees give us clean air and shade in the summer. Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio, 2016
“How wonderful, O Lord, are the works of your hands!
The heavens declare Your glory,
the arch of sky display Your handiwork
In Your love You have given us the power
to behold the beauty of Your world
robed in all its splendor
The sun and the stars, the valleys and hills,
the rivers and lakes all disclose Your presence.
The roaring breakers of the sea tell of Your awesome Might,
the beasts of the field and the bird of the air
bespeak Your wondrous will.
In Your goodness You have made us able to hear
the music of the world. The voices of loved ones
reveal to us that You are in our midst.
A divine voice sings through all creation.”
—Jewish Prayer
The trees seem to scrape the sky. Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio, 2016
Dear Future Generations
Oh God of all, at this time of our gradual awakening to the dangers we are imposing on our beautiful Earth, open the hearts and minds of all your children, that we may learn to nurture rather than destroy our planet. Amen.
—Lorraine R. Schmitz
Trees become more beautiful with the years, wizened, bent but not broken.
“Let there be peace, welfare and righteousness
in every part of the world.
Let confidence and friendship prevail
for the good of east and west
for the good of the needy south
for the good of all humanity.
Let the people inspire their leaders
helping them to seek peace by peaceful means
helping them and urging them
to build a better world
a world with a home for everybody
a world with food and work for everybody
a world with spiritual freedom
for everybody.
Let those who have the power of money
be motivated by selfless compassion.
Let money become a tool
for the good of mankind.
Let those who have power
deal respectfully with the resources of the planet.
Let them respect and maintain
the purity of the air, water, land and subsoil.
Let them co-operate to restore
the ecological soundness of Mother Earth.
Let trees grow up by the billions
around the world.
Let green life invade the deserts.
Let industry serve humanity
and produce waste that serves nature.
Let technology respect
the holiness of Mother Earth.
Let those who control the mass media
contribute to create mutual understanding
contribute to create optimism and confidence.
Let ordinary people
Meet by the millions across the borders.
Let them create a universal network of love and friendship.
Let billions of human beings
co-0perate to create a good future
for their children and grandchildren.
Let us survive
In peace and harmony with Mother Earth.”
—Hagen Hasselbalch
Because we, Americans are in an election cycle, we must consider all the things that a President will have influence over or control over. War or peace. Jobs or homelessness. Green spaces around our cities breathing air we desperately need or going outside with masks over our noses and mouths. This person will have a do it my way or the highway attitude or will exhibit compassion and gentleness for the peoples who are refugees around the world. This person will enforce the precepts that our Founding Fathers formed this “great experiment” upon or they will trod all over the rights and acts which our nation was founded upon. We will have free speech or we will become a totalitarian government. We will do as we are told or we will have another Civil War.
Whomever is elected will be watched. Not just by “We the people” but by history. History will tell the truth. It may not be what is taught in our schools in the next couple of generations but the truth is what history will demonstrate in the long haul. Fellow Americans, I ask only two things during this election cycle. First, get out and vote. It is a right and it is a responsibility. If your candidate is not still in the running, vote for whomever is going to be the best or do the least damage to America. You still have choices. I, myself, have voted for the other party when the candidate my party put forth wasn’t the best choice. Second, don’t be afraid to vote for the candidate who beats their competitor. To be blunt, if you are for Sanders, and Hillary is the nominee, don’t vote for Trump in your anger. If the FBI really had all the evidence against Hillary they say they have, she would have been arrested by now. She has not been. If you think money has bought her freedom, then surely money bought Trump his victories. Which candidate will save our trees, water, stop fracking, clean up the air, stop dumping waste into our rivers and lakes and into our oceans and seas. Do you know we are about to lose our Great Barrier Reef? It is true.
A recently released report revealed a heart wrenching discovery about Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The researchers at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies found that at least 93 percent of the Great Barrier Reef suffers from coral bleaching.
The bleaching phenomenon occurs when corals are stressed by high water temperatures or other causes. Severe bleaching could lead to the death of corals.
The task force surveyed 911 coral reefs by air and the accuracy of the researchers initial aerial surveys have been confirmed by scientific divers who are continuing to measure the impact of the bleaching. Dive teams have already discovered about 50 percent coral death.
“We have now flown over 911 individual reefs in a helicopter and light plane, to map out the extent and severity of bleaching along the full 2300 km length of the Great Barrier Reef. Of all the reefs we surveyed, only 7% (68 reefs) have escaped bleaching entirely. At the other end of the spectrum, between 60 and 100% of corals are severely bleached on 316 reefs, nearly all in the northern half of the Reef,” Professor Terry Hughes, head of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University said in a statement.
Hughes tweeted a map showing the results of the bleaching that hit the northern parts of the reef hardest:
See image of the Great Barrier Reef below:
Namaste,
Barbara
Our trees have stood over us, protecting us for hundreds of generations.
Cathedrals of Eternity
Galstonbury Tor, Sacred Spiral Hill
The nature of sacred places is comparable to the nature of the divine in that nothing is unrelated to them. Our life’s destination is not a place, but a new way of looking at things.
Sacred places are perceptions of reality
Sacred places are not locations but events where all time is eternal time
Sacred places are sites for remembering
Sacred places are renewed crucibles of consciousness
Sacred places are an encyclopedia of self-knowledge
Sacred places are time capsules from ourselves to ourselves
Sacred places are portals to eternity
Sacred places are a geography of the imagination
Sacred places are centers of the sacred and profane
Sacred places are realms of things to come.
“River banks lined with
green willows, fragrant
grasses:
A place not sacred?
Where?”
——-Sayings of the Masters
“I’m too religious to believe in religion. You don’t have to believe in a sacred world. It slaps you in the face. It is everywhere.”
—-an eighty year old Hungarian friend to Gretel Ehrlich, poet and novelist
“We all move on the fringes of eternity and are sometimes granted vistas through the fabric of illusion.”
—Ansel Adams, photographer
“To acquire the awareness of the Divine, one need not journey to any special region or place. It is enough if the eye is turned inwards. I the Bhagavadgita, the Inner Reality, the Atma, is described as “splendorous like a billion suns.” But man has not become aware of the light or power within.”
—Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Indian avatar
“We have seen, you and I, the laughing sirens of the trees.
We have been fortunate because, it is said, they are rarely seen, if ever, that they never venture beyond the forest of pine and cedar but stay in the shadows of the thicket of the wood. It is said that these women you have seen cannot think for themselves, that their minds are not their own. It is said, that the women you have seen before your eyes go through life with no intent but to frolic, to make merry and to laugh. It is said that the young who fall and are seduced into their camp return not unto their own but stay with the creatures who think not and cannot reason to know what is good and what is evil. It is said that if in your ramblings you hear this laughter in the wood behind a tree, tarry not, but turn and go the other way. It is said that this is difficult to do when one is young.
—-Laughter Behind the Trees, from the Tloo-Qwah-nah Ceremony, told by George Clutesi, Nootka writer and artist.
“Here, my brothers, are the roots of trees, here are empty places; Meditate.”
—Ancient Buddhist Philosopher
Tree Awakening
“There is in India a tree whose property it is to plant itself. It spreads out mighty
arms to the earth, where in the space of a single year the arms take root and put
forth anew.” —Pliny (A.D. 70), on the wondrous Banyan tree
Rainbow over the French Broad River, Arden, NC
Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2016
“Stones, plants, animals, the earth, the sky, the stars, the elements, in fact everything
in the universe reveals to us the knowledge, power and the will of the Originator.”
—Abu Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghazzali, Persian mystic, 1058-1111.
Old Man of the Hoh
A Saturday Adventure
Hello everyone. I thought I would tell you and show you about our adventure. On Saturday, Maggie, my sister and myself started out on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was fascinating. Though still summer, there are many hues of green on the trees and shrubs. It was truly amazing. We went to the Folk Art Center, where local artists sell their wares and are often available to talk. Next we drove on to Black Mountain, where Maggie used to live. We had lunch with all the other tourists and took my sister to the old general store. They carry so many items. It is a huge building and it is full. Maggie hauled me over to a display of walking sticks.
Now I have my decade old cane which has a wizard carved into it. I keep refusing to get other sticks, but they both were hounding me and I did find one I like. They Amy found a matching one. They are from the Great Smokies and have bear prints on them. Amy told me they would be great for “off roading.” In other words, when they get me to leave solid ground for a trail. These beauties were the least expensive I have seen anywhere. So they came home with us.
I thought I would share some of my photographs from the day, with you.
Namaste, Barbara
Really cool cloud formations as twilight begins to come upon us.
Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2015
The mountains here are literally layer upon layer. There is a book published that gives all the names of the mountains. It is a fairly thick book. Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2015
The clouds here are amazing. Photograph and copyright by
Barbara Mattio 2015
A predictor of autumn? Some leaves are turning colors. Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2015
Blue Ridge Mountains. Photograph and copyright by
Barbara Mattio 2015
Thin needle evergreen. Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2015
Maggie and Amy on our excursion.
Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2015
Off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Photograph and copyright by Barbara Mattio 2015
Today We Thank Mother Earth
“Lord, the air smells good today, straight from the mysteries
within the inner courts of God.
A grace like new clothes thrown
across the garden, free medicine for everybody.
The trees in their prayer, the birds in praise,
the first blue violets kneeling.
Whatever came from Being is caught up in being,
drunkenly forgetting the way back.”
—Rumi
Zinnias grown, photographed and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2014
The beauty of the earth is everywhere, mankind has not destroyed what we have been given. Photographed and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2015
“too much industry
too much eats
too much beer
too many cigarettes
Too much philosophy
too many thought forms
not enough rooms—
not enough trees
Too much Police
too much computers
to much hi fi
too much Pork
Too much coffee
too much smoking
under slate grey roofs
Too much obedience
Too many bellies
Too many business suits
Too much paperwork
too many magazines
Too much industry
No fish in the Rhine
Lorelei poisoned
Too much embarrassment.
Too many fatigued
workers on the train
Ghost Jews scream
on the street corner
Too much old murder
too much white torture
Too much one Stammheim
too many happy Nazis.
Too many crazy students
Not enough farms
not enough Appletrees
Not enough nut trees
Too much money
Too many poor
turks without vote
“Guests” do the work
Too much metal
Too much fat
Too many jokes
not enough meditation.”
—Allen Ginsberg, twentieth century Beats poet
The skies are filled with the beauty of Mother Earth. Photographed and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2015
May we all remember to thank Mother Earth for what we have been given. May we ask forgiveness for what we have destroyed. May we do restitution to our planet to undo what we have destroyed. May our words, prayers and actions make a difference.
Female lion on watch. Photographed and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2015
My Dream
I have a dream, a dream of peace. My dream is a world without borders between countries. Mother Earth would be one endless landscape where all are welcome and appreciated. My world would have new priorities. People would see themselves in others and therefore would not work to hurt or disparage others.
Resources would be willingly shared with all no matter what they look like or who they love. I dream that the homo sapiens would face challenges in our world together. No one looking to be more or have more than other people.
I dream of a world where communities are not deliberately fragmented. No one must do without because it is inconceivable not to share. It matters to each of us that we all have what we need to thrive and enjoy success.
As I watched the mountains turn a little more green each day, I was mesmerized by all the shades of green and the light. It shimmered and shined across the mountains. The peacefulness was healing and inspiring. Each day, a different kind of tree began to bloom. From the bottom of my heart, I was filled with gratitude for being able to watch life come out of its long winter sleep. There were many people around me who were sharing the same experience. A smile here, a nod there and we knew that we were filled with gratitude and love for our planet.
Mother Earth was a gift given to humans from the Universe. Each blade of grass, each leaf on trees and shrubs, each floral scent carried on the wind is a boon for our lives. Life is precious and it is found everywhere. We are charged to take care of each other and what we have been given. It is up to us to love and care for everyone. It is up to us to care for everything in our world. We need to be responsible.
“Gratitude to Mother Earth, sailing through night and day—
and to her soil: rich, rare, and sweet
in our minds so be it.
Gratitude to Plants, the sun-facing light-changing leaf
and fine root-hairs; standing still through the wind
and rain; their dance is in the flowing spiral grain
in our minds so be it.
Gratitude to Air, bearing the soaring Swift and the silent
Owl at dawn. Breath of our song
clear spirit breeze
in our minds so be it.
Gratitude to Wild Beings, our brothers and sisters, teaching secrets,
freedoms, and ways; who share with us their milk,
self-complete, brave and aware
in our minds so be it.
Gratitude to Water; clouds, lakes, rivers, glaciers,
holding or releasing, streaming through all
our bodies salty seas
in our minds so be it.
Gratitude to the Sun, blinding pulsing light through
trunks of trees, through mists, warming caves where
bears and snakes sleep-he who wakes us-
in our minds so be it.
Gratitude to the Great Sky
who holds billions of stars–and goes yet beyond that-
beyond all powers, and thoughts
and yet is within us-
Grandfather Space. The Mind is his Wife.
so be it.
—Gary Snyder (after a Mohawk prayer)
Mountain stream
Photographed and copyrighted 2015
Blue Ridge Mountains
Photographed and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2015
New Horizons
some very old trees
In the midst of all of the darkness we find ourselves in, there are exciting and positive things happening. We can’t dwell on death but we can work on taking care of Mother Earth.
A young woman named Meryl Marsh is the director of Archangel Ancient Tree Archive. This is a world wide organization that devotes itself to preserving the DNA of our oldest and strongest trees on the planet; trees which have survived drought, fires, insect infestations and the greed of loggers.
Ms. Marsh and her team cut limbs off of these trees to use them to preserve the DNA, and the genetic memory held within the DNA. All living things have DNA and we are connected to the Universe and to each other. Guns, fire, saws, brutality cannot break that connection.
The people in this project are working to ship these small branches in coolers to specialized labs where they pare them down and root them and try to grow again that wonderful tree that it came from.They are having a 2 % success rate. Yes, it does sound small but as they learn more I know they will have more successes.
Their successes include Irish giant oaks, and our Sequoia trees. They will take the living offspring and replant them in their countries of origin, where they will grow and perpetuate the grand old forests. Imagine refilling the world with strong living trees. The Giant Sequoia, Black Willow and Redwood trees are also being used. Good luck to this inspiring organization. I am sure Mother Earth will reward your spirit and love for all her living creatures.
Hug a tree today and tell it how important it is to you.
The Blessing of Trees
1000 year old trees in wales
I really love trees and the energy they give off is truly amazing. They are so strong and protecting. They help keep the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Mother Earth needs that assistance.When I was a little girl, I used to think trees sleep in the winter. And woke up in the spring.
“The beauty of the trees,
the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass,
speaks to me.
The summit of the mountain,
the thunder of the sky,
the rhythm of the sea,
speaks to me.
The faintness of the stars,
the freshness of the morning,
the dewdrop on the flower,
speaks to me.
The strength of fire,
the taste of salmon,
the trail of the sun,
and the life that never goes away,
they speak to me.
And my heart soars.”
——Chief Dan George
Truly Magestic Tree
Our most secred scripture is the “holy book” of Nature
“It is written on the arched sky,
It looks out from every star…
It is spread out like a legible lanuage upon the
broad face of an unsleeping ocean.
It is the poetry of Nature,
It is that which uplifts the spirit within us…
—Thomas Berry
A tunnel of trees
Oak Alley Plantation, Lousiana; Acrylic on stretched canvas; By Barbara Mattio
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The Sacred Writings for Mother Earth
The trees are our guardians.
The concept that Mother Earth is sacred is not a contemporary one. Through the millenniums all spiritual paths have written, repeated and taught sacred prayers and thoughts about our earth. Some are filled with praise or thanksgiving. Some are requests for the needs for the earth and the people. Some are just being aware of the beauty of Mother Earth.
Over time, people have used Earth Prayer to maintain and return to a vivid relationship with the Earth. Sometimes, we just have an appreciative heart for our food or our water. As all of the grateful thoughts and prayers, Gathas or verses we read during our meditations rise to the Heavens we look for forgiveness for the injury we have done to our planet and request healing to reduce the damage.
“The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep!
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep!
People are going back and forth
Across the door-sill where the two worlds touch,
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep!
—Rumi
“All life is your own,
All fruits of the earth
Are fruits of your womb,
Your union, your dance.
Lady and Lord,
We thank you for blessings and abundance.
Join with us, Feast with us, Enjoy with us!
Blessed be.
—Starhawk
“Holy persons draw to themselves all that is earthly.”
—–Hildegard of Bingen
“I entrust myself to earth,
Earth entrusts herself to me.
I entrust myself to Buddha,
Buddha entrusts herself to me”.
—Thich Nhat Hanh
“May the axe be far away from you,
May the fire be far away from you;
May there be rain without storm,
Lord of Trees, may you be blessed.
Lord of Trees, may I be blessed.”
——Hindu Prayer
“When you walk across the fields with your mind pure and holy,
then from all the stones, and all growing things, and all animals, the sparks
of their soul come out and cling to you, and then they are purified and become a holy fire in you.”
—Hasidic Saying
“Bless Adonai
who spins day into dusk
With wisdom watch
the dawn gates open,
with understanding let
time and seasons
come and go;
with awe perceive
the stars in lawful orbit.
Morning dawns,
evening darkens,
darkness and light yielding
one to the other,
yet each distinguished
and unique.
Marvel at Life!
Strive to know its ways!
Seek Wisdom and Truth,
the gateways
to Life’s mysteries!
Wondrous indeed
is the evening twilight.”
—–Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro
“Goodnight God
I hope that you are having
a good time being the world.
I like the world very much.
I’m glad you made the plants
and trees survive with the
rain and summers.
When summer is nearly near
the leaves begin to fall.
I hope you have a good time
being the world.
I like how God feels around
everyone in the world.
God, I am very happy that
I live on you.
Your arms clasp around the world.
I like you and your friends.
Every time I open my eyes
I see the gleaming sun.
I like the animals—-the deer,
and us creatures of the world,
the mammals.
I love my dear friends”
—-Danu Baxter, Four and a half years old
“Teach your children
what we have taught our children–
that the earth is our mother.
Whatever befalls the earth
befalls the sons and daughters of the earth.
If men spit upon the ground,
they spit upon themselves.
This we know.
The earth does does not belong to us;
we belong to the earth.
This we know.
All things are connected
like the which unites one family.
All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the earth
befalls the sons and daughters of the earth.
We did not weave the web of life,
We are merely a strand in it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.”
—-Chief Seattle
Carolina Beach, NC; Photo by Barbara Mattio
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