Recently, I found a post on Pinterest that gave the directions for starting your own bonsai tree from a pine cone.  I’m going to give it a try. 

It seems simple enough – and so cool! Growing my own tiny tree! 

As I was reading through the steps laid out in the post – I was thinking about the nature of trees and this sent me down a mental path and to the drawing, “Perspective.”

There are many pine trees in my neighborhood that frequently drop their cones after a heavy rain or blustery day that I have randomly collected to make various Christmas decorations, use them as drawing resources, and in general, marvel at their design and beauty.  Trees of all sorts, shapes and sizes will send out their seeds and in the case of pine trees, that comes in the form of pine cones.  

The cones themselves when dropped, are usually closed – it is over time with some drying out that the  seeds become visible and can be shaken out of the cone. The cones can remain in the tree and dry on the branch – allowing the seeds when they fall to be caught by the wind and propagate further from the host. 

This idea of seeds being scattered by the wind – has caught hold of my imagination; my brain has been building these mental vignettes or small video clips of pine cones with seeds intact landing on a pile of mossy rocks or falling into a babbling brook – to be carried away to verdant land downstream. 

The variability of nature and natural selection; the unexpected landscape and circumstances in which we sometimes find ourselves and the linkage to how strong we are at putting down roots, digging in and building a home among rocks or loose, loamy soil. When the cones finally stop and have landed in their final destination, will there be bright sun or partial shade? Is the soil full of all the nutrients we need to survive and thrive and flourish, or are we struggling to find the sustenance that helps keep us rooted during our daily storms?

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact.  Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”

Marcus Aurelius

From a distance, trees can seem small and insignificant. But up close, they can be solid and towering.

Anecdotally, broccoli florets can look like trees and we used that to teach our children to eat their veggies.

“Eat your broccoli!”

Mom

Change In Elevation

As a child, I loved climbing trees.  We had an old cedar tree in our yard that was perfect for hiding in. It had big branches we could recline on with our backs against the trunk. The view from the tree changed our perspective of the yard and our home even though we were probably no more than five or six feet off the ground. 

But, this higher elevation also changed our view of ourselves: we thought we were brave for climbing so high and this fearlessness lingered with us.

This is a very tangible lesson: “Where you are changes your perception of the things that surround you.”

All of this is to say that sometimes life doesn’t give us the start we want or deserve. But, unlike trees we aren’t forced to stay where we’re plated. You can move on and find sunnier spots in which to thrive. Coming to this decision can be easy or oh so difficult! Sometimes, you just need to look at your situation from a different perspective to see the light.