Listening to the Giants

This Fall a group of seekers visited the Coastal Redwoods in Northern California. The learning and impact was glorious. In this post many people contributed their love of the Earth and the Redwoods.

We have been given the responsibility to be guardians of all these sacred places, like the redwoods, and to keep them safe and holy. But so many life forms are in peril of going extinct because of our greed and our belief that this is “our Earth”, and we can do whatever want with it.
Donna Taylor

Today, only 5 percent of the original old-growth coast redwood forest remains, along a 450-mile coastal strip.
Save the Redwood League

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief.
Do justly, now.
Love mercy, now.
Walk humbly, now.
You are not obligated to complete the work,
but neither are you free to abandon it.

from The Talmud

The beauty and rarity of this Albino Redwood and it’s ability to find a way to live and be useful to the forest astounded me. It does not create it’s own chlorophyll and is fed by the trees around it. In return it takes on the heavy metals for the others. This lesson of interdependence and being yourself is worth pondering.
RMaya Briel

Being with the Redwoods touched my soul. I feel the Redwoods within me.

Diane Kaplan

And the Redwood said:  “I have seen humans eating cookies”

Human: “It is an advantage of being human”

And the Redwood said: “We have creatures and plants living on us
Roots that are connected to the Earth
And our crown is bathed in the sky.
We have the rain and the fog.
We are not full of cookies,
But we are full of life.”
Channeling a Redwood – Donna Taylor

I was thinking of writing a poem about the trees, but I couldn’t because, really, the trees themselves are the poems. An epic poem.
Annie Kitaeff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being in the Redwoods, I became aware of the urgency of life, the enormous power of the life force, the precious nature of life, and the need to live in harmony with other life forms. As teachers, the Redwoods are unparalleled.
Annie Kitaeff

I had come to the Redwoods to help them, and yet was so exhausted that I didn’t feel I had the physical strength to do so. I did what I could. However, at one point, I just felt that I needed to lay down. I laid on the forest floor and fell into a mystical, sleep-like state. I felt the redwood trees healing me with their roots growing into my heart as I lay on my back on the forest floor. I wished to give to them, but they gave to me so much.

I said to my friend, Larry, I didn’t have much strength to bring because I was so physically tired. He said to me, “But you brought your truth and that was your strength”.

Dr. Jedidiah Krauss

Human: Grandfather, Grandfather
You said I was small.
But you weren’t just talking about my height.
Grandfather, Grandfather
Teach me not to be small any more
Help me to remember who I was

Redwood: “One tree never stands alone
One tree never has all the answers
We are all one root system
Let the sky and the Earth talk to you
It is almost like a singing”

Human: I am the forest.
I am interconnected with all living things
I am unique and can contribute to the whole
I listen with my whole body
I am the sky
I am the Earth
Grandfather, Grandfather
It hurts to feel this good.

Human:  Lawrence Wade
Channeling a Redwood – Donna Taylor

Let the Roots Run Deep – Lyrics and song by Lawrence Wade

 

View on full screen. Shared by Veronica Smith.

Life is a big circle and many forget that when any part of our ecosystem is gone, it diminishes who we are and our potential.
Jim Cotton