Sunday Dinner: Allies

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“Trees in fog stand without leaves,

dark stems in a maze of inexhaustible intricacy.

Patterns laid upon patterns in a seeming randomness

that gives way to a single beautiful scene.” 

Akiva Silver

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“We all have a lot to learn about living on this Earth. 

It is a strange and wild place

with endless nuance and variation. 

As soon as we learn something, we find more questions.”

Akiva Silver

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“When I look at the sky, what I see there is not simply blue. 

There’s a radiance, an energy, a power. 

It is from this power that trees feed. 

Literally building their bodies out of the radiant sky,

trees of power are strong beings to ally ourselves with.”

Akiva Silver

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“Trees speak to our souls because they offer life to our bodies,

a timeless proposition that predates and outlasts us. 

Trees connect us to forever.”

Samuel Thayer from the foreword to

Trees of Power- Ten Essential Arboreal Allies by Akiva Silver

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“Trees beckon us to sit at their feet, humbly, and listen. 

They speak of the supposedly distant past,

reminding us that it was scarcely more than yesterday. 

They link us to a future that becomes, through them,

imaginable, almost palpable. 

Perhaps we cannot guess what the future holds,

but we can plant it.”

Samuel Thayer

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Trees are the answer to many of our ills,

and the ladder to many of our dreams. 

They are the arms and hands of the Earth,

reaching up to the heavens on our behalf,

grasping the slippery currency of sunlight and rendering it,

through their wondrous alchemy,

in to the stuff of life –

our life and theirs.”

Samuel Thayer

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“We breathe these trees through our lungs,

shelter ourselves with their wood,

and fill our bodies with the energy of their fruit.

Akiva Silver

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“We live at a time where there is widespread disturbance all around us. 

The ground is open and waiting for seeds. 

We can bemoan the tragedies that nature has endured

or we can cast seeds and plant a future.” 

Akiva Silver

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Every seed, cutting or small tree that you ever hold in your hands

wants to live.  It wants the same thing you do. 

You are its ally, as much as it, yours. 

You are able to see and do things that are not possible for the plant. 

Humans can be amazing helpers to the plants we choose to work with. 

Alliances work both ways.”

Akiva Silver

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Photos by Woodland Gnome 2020

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“Partnering with trees is as natural as breathing. 

We inhale their exhalations and they inhale ours. 

We are designed to work with each other.”

Akiva Silver

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About woodlandgnome

Lifelong teacher and gardener.

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