THE TREES THAT WERE SEPARATED

At the edge of a small clearing near the center of a great forest were two beautiful trees that had grown up side by side, very close together. As they grew, their roots and branches grew into each other’s spaces. No matter how much one of them might try to preserve its own space, the other was always there – sometimes pushing, sometimes teasing, sometimes playing, sometimes supporting. Eventually, the two trees became as one, completely intertwined. Places where their trunks had rubbed against each other had worn away the bark, and the trees actually grew together.

The trees shared everything. They shared their warm sun that shone on their leaves. They shared the cool rain that bathed their leaves and nurtured the ground beneath them. They shared the soft breezes that caressed their branches. Together they formed one beautiful large canopy as they took their place proudly among the giants of the forest.

In the autumn, their leaves would fall and nourish the ground beneath them, providing a bed for bushes and flowers. Birds nested in their branches, filling the air with life and music. The trees realized that they really were one – they belonged together. Each was incomplete without the other.

One winter, a family of voles burrowed into the ground at the base of one of the trees. In doing so they chewed away some of the roots of the tree, exposing her to a terrible disease. The tree tried her best to strengthen her roots so the voles would leave them alone, but the destructive rodents prevailed. Germs began to invade the trunk of the tree, causing a painful decay.

When springtime came to the forest, the injured tree realized that something was wrong. She didn’t have energy for the new growth that wanted to emerge. She couldn’t stand as confidently as she once had in the presence of harsh winds. She tried to reach down deeper and deeper for the life-giving moisture in the soil, but her roots no longer responded as they once had.

She was losing her zest for living.. Instead of welcoming the rising sun and the playful breezes of the dawn, she simply wanted too shut out everything that required even the tiniest bit of energy. She was tired. Very tired. She couldn’t even respond to the loving presence and support of her partner.

The partner too realized that something was wrong. Things were no longer as they had once been. The heathy tree tried its best to support his partner, to protect her from harsh winds, to give her as much access as possible to the warm sun, to keep the animals of the forest from disturbing her.

But the damage had been done, and as the summer progressed, the healthy tree knew in his heart that his beloved partner was dying. He didn’t want to think this. It felt disloyal even to consider this possibility. But little by little, he had to face that reality.

Sometimes he wept as he saw new signs that life was draining from his beloved partner. He wept as woodpeckers pecked at her trunk to try to remove underlying insects. Even though he knew it was for the best, he hated to see his partner subjected to this humiliation. He wept when he saw her grimace in pain when a harsh wind tore at her branches.

As autumn approached, the days became shorter, and the sun gradually shone less and less. The suffering tree simply gave up. She could exert no energy to keep her leaves from falling in those first cold winds, and her life-blood, the sap, quickly drained into the remaining roots. Her partner realized that she would never recover.

That winter, a terrible storm blanketed the forest with huge amounts of heavy cold snow. The healthy tree tried to carry the heaviest load, but to no avail. There was no life in his partner’s branches. Everything was brittle and lifeless.

Finally, the injured tree collapsed under the weight of the snow. As she fell to the ground, her now lifeless limbs tore away many of the limbs from her beloved partner. He was badly hurt and wasn’t sure that he himself could survive. But with the coming of spring, a deep primal urging within him brought forth new leaves and growth to begin healing his wounds.

But there was no joy, for a part of himself had been torn away. The beautiful canopy the two of them had formed was now gone, leaving a gaping hole in the forest, and an emptiness in his heart.

The other trees in the forest knew their friend was suffering terribly and wanted to do what they could to help. The lonely tree had no energy to interact with them, and they respected that. They understood that healing is a very slow process.

They did what they could with their branches to protect their friend from harsh winds, and to allow as much sunlight as possible to shine on his leaves. They even adjusted the growth of their roots to create a pathway for a small stream to flow near their friend’s roots, to supply him with nourishment and moisture.

 At first, the lonely tree didn’t like all this attention. He just wanted to be left alone. But as the summer progressed, he began to notice the world around him. He nodded to the other trees that had been protective of him, and held his branches a little higher. The other creatures of the forest also responded. A family of squirrels built their nest in his branches, so that new life could emerge in his presence. A beautiful bird flew to his highest branch every day to sing.

 A of colors appeared on the forest floor beneath him, as various flowers blossomed forth in luxuriant loveliness. And one day, after a storm, the other trees called his attention to a beautiful sunset.

 Day by day, he slowly extended his branches toward the other trees that were also reaching out to him. Together, they would create a new forest canopy, of which he was an important and valued part.

 Deep within himself, the tree smiled. Things would never be the same as they had been when he could share everything with his partner, but life was good, and he was grateful.