Pocket of Peace: July

Rootedness: An Antidote to Distress

Women are like trees, said Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés in her landmark book, Women Who Run With the Wolves. Her direct remark was this: “The tree is considered immortal, for its seeds will live on, its root system shelters and revivifies, it is home to an entire food chain of life. Like a woman, a tree also has its seasons and its stages of growth: it has its winter, it has its spring.”*

Have you ever felt like a tree? One moment a sturdy shelter, a thing of glory, then in the next, a victim of buffeting winds, tattered by the storms of life? Leaves (your efforts) wildly tossed. Branches (your emotions) split open from stress? Trunk (your heart) struck by lightning and ruptured to the core? I know I have.

And, yet, I have also felt the towering strength of a tree within me; the solidity that is ever-present if I have a mind to notice it and to call upon it. In fact, when I think of a tree, or imagine myself to actually be a tree, I immediately feel more peaceful and calm, at ease with what life offers to me. I sense we can all feel this way, taking nature’s lead by embracing a tree’s fortitude as our own.

Be A Tree

Imagine yourself as a tree—a strapping oak, a flexible weeping willow, a majestic redwood. Pick one that suits your fancy.

Take a deep breath and place yourself in position as that very tree; your “root feet” firmly planted upon the earth. Imagine more feet roots spreading out and down, centering you in solid soil. Continue to breathe deeply and evenly. Notice how much more stable you are beginning to feel.

Take another deep breath and raise your arms (to the side or above) as if they are branches. Feel how they welcome the world, the breeze, birds that may come and land lightly upon your limbs. Feel your leaves being gently caressed by warm breezes. Notice how undisturbed, sensible, clear, and open you now feel. Relax. Enjoy the serenity and strength of your own beingness.

Being a tree can serve as a dependable “Pocket of Peace” whenever life threatens to overwhelm you, no matter the reason. May all the seasons of your life be tinged with the colors, sights, and sounds of peace.

---

Janice Lynne Lundy is an inspirational speaker, interfaith spiritual director, and the author of Your Truest Self: Embracing the Woman You Are Meant to Be, available in bookstores and at amazon.com To learn more about Jan, visit her website, http://www.awakenedliving.com, subscribe to her free newsletter, and receive a new 90-page, inspirational e-book, The Awakened Woman's Guide to Life. You may also visit her blog, Awake is Good. Jan welcomes your comments and questions: jan@awakenedliving.com.