Today’s episode is called The Wind Through The Trees. I’ve talked about trees a number of times on the show and of course, you know that the wind has special meaning for me as well. I’ve seen faces in trees many times and I often look at a tree and wonder what it would tell me if it could talk. Hey tree, how many nights have you spent with the howling wind ripping endlessly through your branches, with no thought about right or wrong, or whether there would be any end to the wreckless mistreatment of my branches? Listen & Subscribe on: iTunes / Stitcher / Podbean / Overcast / Spotify Contact Info Website: www.MindfulnessMode.com Year After Year I stand here day and night, week after week, month after month, and year after year. Decades have gone by, and the wind has shaped me. The wind has decided how streamlined I would become. The wind has been the very core of my being. As a tree, I am one with the wind. That is mindfulness. As a human, I can be one with my surroundings and that which influences me. I can be one with my body, one with my influencers, one with my thoughts. I believe in the value of this single thought; the wind through the trees. Obstacles in my Way As a tree, I appear vibrant and lively in the spring, when the world around me is waking up and getting ready for new growth. I grow another ring, an inner ring that is totally unseen from outward viewpoints. This is my space; this space is mine and mine alone. Birds, insects, and worms can all take up residence in me, and that only makes me better. Here I am, my best to thrive in spite of obstacles that appear in my way. I Live On I continue to live on, or not, being emotionless. Even if I die, I may continue to look stately, my branches stretching outward, bare and empty. If fire ravages me, I know my energy will live on in my ashes as I transition into the soil and later, into new growth and possibly new trees. I may be cleared for parking lots and development, even then my energy will live on. It may be a mystery where my energy goes, but it does not dissolve into nothing. As the Law of Conservation of Energy states, energy can neither be created nor destroyed. I live on. Rocks, Rivers, and Oceans I am the wind. I am kinetic energy, able to rotate massive rotor blades, which convert kinetic energy into rotational energy. But I am simple. I am simple like the wind. Watch me gently touch the petal of a flower or the tail feather of a dove. I boost the eagle’s flight and allow the condor to soar, with their massive 12-foot wingspan, they rise above the world in their graceful flight. I identify as the wind. I only exist, just like the trees, the mountains, the rocks, and the rivers and oceans. I am the wind through the trees. My Meaning Call me the wind. I am only what I am. I am energy. I exist whether I am talked about or not, whether I am loved or hated. I am not about to change as a result of human thought. Mindfulness helps me realize that the wind through the trees is as important as any other aspect of the world. The Wind Loves Me Here I am, lying in bed at night, thinking of the wind blowing through the trees. Often, I can hear the wind just outside my window, and the sound of the wind is a gift. If the wind howls, the sound feeds me and calms me. As the wind changes, it reminds me of the past, present, and future, and that the present is all that really matters. I repeat my calming mantra, and the wind gives me grounding. It gives me peace. I love the wind and I allow myself to believe that the wind loves me. The wind through the trees is part of my ongoing mantra. Suggested Resources Book: Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May Book: Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn App: Insight Timer Related Episodes The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times; Katherine May Walking For Mindfulness Celebrate Earth Day With The Godfather of Green, Jer