The Generosity of Trees
Daily Passage
Reflections
Today’s reading is a continuation of yesterday’s. Shall I put “ditto?”
Here, today, we have more sayings that help us to understand that there are consequences to our actions and that what goes around, comes around. Having focused on the whole yesterday, I will now dive into and focus on one verse individually for the sake of inspiration to write.
Of all of these proverbs in this passage, I really love verse 30: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.” The image of this tree begins in Proverbs 3 in line 18: “She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called happy.” The “her” is Lady Wisdom. It is also mentioned again several times before the book closes (11:30; 13:12; and 15:4).
I love trees. I try to get out and walk in woods and forests daily. Science has shown how very good trees are to our well being. When we are around them, they calm us. They lift our vibes and help us to balance. They are a grounding presence for us. They are they beautiful. Birds build their nests in them. Yes, they provide the homes for many, including me. My house was built using the timber produced from trees. They give us shelter and shade. And of course they are the perfect air-filtering and air-generating factories. We owe our very breath to trees. We have so much to be thankful for when considering the tree. If we can think of nothing today to be the thankful for, we have not yet considered the tree. The story of The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein comes to mind. “And the boy loved the tree.......very much. And the tree was happy.” If you haven’t read that one, look it up. It’s a good story. It sort of exemplifies or preset relation some of us have to trees, taking - taking and the tree always giving and happy to give.
If you have taken from a tree, go now and plant one as soon as you can in honor of that tree. In Peter Jackson’s screen play of The Two Towers which depicts Tolkein’s great work of the same name in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, he has Treebeard exclaim when he walks into a destroyed forest which was cut by an evil wizard to fuel the fire of war, “Saruman... A wizard should know better!” Do we; the wizards of our world, creators of our future, do we know to save the trees—to protect them?
From the tree, I learn today about giving and am thankful.
Note: I am discovering many more biblical references to the tree of life, which is found in literature around the world and often, like here in Proverbs, related to immortality. I will return to write on this topic when the tree is mentioned again in Proverbs 13. For now, I will list the biblical references here for us to consider together:
Genesis 2:9 “Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
Deuteronmy 20:19 (KJVA)When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege.
Psalms 1:3: “He is life a tree planted by streams of water the yields its fruit in season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”
Proverbs 3:8: “She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called happy.”
Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
but violence[a] takes lives away.
Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 15:4 A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
Revelation 2:7: 7 Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.
Revelation 22:2 through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life[a] with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
Revelation 22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes,[a] so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.
Revelation 22:19 if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
The reference "tree of life" also appears in the Jewish Apocrypha:
2 Esdras 2:12 They shall have the tree of life for an ointment of sweet savour; they shall neither labour, nor be weary.
2 Esdras 8:52 (KJVA) For unto you is paradise opened, the tree of life is planted, the time to come is prepared, plenteousness is made ready, a city is builded, and rest is allowed, yea, perfect goodness and wisdom.
2 Mac16 He recounted to you Solomon's proverb, "There is a tree of life for those who do his will.'
Ben Sira 19:19 (KJVA) The knowledge of the commandments of the Lord is the doctrine of life: and they that do things that please him shall receive the fruit of the tree of immortality.
give
“I think that I shall never see A poem as lovely as a tree”
— Joyce Kilmer
Eight Affirmations of Gratitude
I am grateful for trees.
I give thanks for the air I breathe produced and filtered by trees.
I give thanks for the timber that was used to build my beautiful home.
I give thanks for the trees that were used to produce the paper I write on and that is so very available for me.
I am thankful for life-giving and life-sustaining fruits that I eat each day that come from trees.
I am thankful for the woods near my home and for all of the parks and places in this world that are green and growing.
I am thankful the life-giving forests of this world.
I give thanks for the literature I read about trees that reminds me of my connections to others and to the Earth and look forward to studying this literature further.
Questions to Consider
How can I become more involved in reforestation projects to help our planet become a healthier place?
Just how important are trees related to my well-being?
What is the human connection this archetypal tree often called “The Tree of Life” that globally inspires such spirit filled literature related to immortality?
Blessings
Thank you for joining me. Love and light to you my friends. And until next time, breath well and consider the giving tree. Namaste.