All My Friends Are Trees

In the spring of 2022, the day came when the verbiage around mounting Covid 19 cases, lockdowns, vaccine availability, and health care services in crisis had all but broken me. I decided to leave the television off and instead, opted for a walk in a well-known nearby park. With my favourite tea-filled travel mug, I embarked on a surprising and unintended practice in connecting with Nature that has grown into a deeply loved source of revitalization.

Arriving at the park on a sunny Friday afternoon felt like a type of homecoming. I strolled by all the familiar spaces – a bench that offered comfort during awkward first date conversations, the sunny patch where a spontaneous picnic created a much-loved memory, the path I walked to work in my theatre days – which eventually led to my favourite section where a large number of trees congregate. It is a quieter section of the park due to the sparce grass, abundance of shade, and little room to run or frolic. Even so, I have always felt far more comfortable in that area than anywhere else in the varied spaces spanning a few city blocks.

On that day, for the first time - possibly ever in my life - I walked without a destination. Previously, leaving the house for no other reason than to leave the house was a pointless endeavour to me so I had long refused to do it. That day, however, the trees taught me that without a destination in mind, one ends up where the heart chooses and that is always the best place to be.

As I continued my heart-led walks among the trees, I came to know them, these beautiful, wise beings. They came to know – and eventually trust – me. In posts to come, you will learn about the friends I’ve made, my method of developing relationship with nature beings, and the surprising gifts that were returned to me.

Stay tuned!