A Rinpoche of the Dalai Lama’s once shared that we may never know all the sacred ways of Mother Earth and all that lives upon her. Many of these mysteries are to remain. Scientists have helped to discover just enough of the profound mysteries to intrigue us onto the path of reverence and stewardship if we allow it.
Trees have lived on this Earth for 400 million years. They live an average lifespan of several centuries. They have the ability to store memory, make medicine to cure their infections, and take care of each other above and below ground. The lovely scent one smells from the Eucalyptus is actually a signaling system called Volatile Organic Compound (VOC). This VOC signal turns on when the tree is in distress specifically communicating to trees even a mile away. An example of this behavior is the need to release toxins in leaves to ward off insect invaders or to prepare for a coming fire. The underground taproots send out lateral roots that intertwine with neighbors capable of communication similar to how information passes between our neurons via synapses.
They share needed nutrients as well. Elements in the leaves exist that are very similar to the rods and cones in our eyes. It’s been discovered that trees ‘sleep’ at night and ‘wake up’ with the sun. With smaller trees, because of their social network, sacred cooperation, sharing nutrients, communicating the need to adjust, strategize, protect one another along with their “seedling children,” they thrive much better in community. Other than the age of a tree, there’s a coded language that lives within that scientists don’t speak fluently — yet. So the magic and mysterious gifts of the trees are yet to be truly known. Many of us do indeed feel them. Others have photographed their auras. We all benefit from them.
Trees have so many lessons for us. Isn’t one of the spiritual practices of life to allow the cycle of manifesting and letting go? It takes a tree only a week to let go of the leaves it took a year to create, knowing that when the conditions are in alignment, that same tree will create a full bloom of more than 100,000 leaves in just a few weeks the following year.
An existential question we may ask is “what truly activates our gifts?” When, how, and why do we leap fearlessly into our personal unknown? The embryo of a tree inside that tiny seed can wait in the ground for years caught between leaving the sacred shell too early and waiting too long. Yet somehow, it knows. A handful of seeds can be placed together in the exact same circumstances. They can be together in the soil, sharing the same microbes, water, sun, and air only for some to wait for a year, others choose to leap right away, or others wait many years. Why? The timing — only the seed knows when to take its one and only chance to become a tree. Cherry tree seeds can wait up to 100 years. Scientists in China discovered a lotus seed (Nelumbo nucifera) in a pearl bog. They broke open the coat and gently coaxed it with water to grow into a beautiful flower. When they carbon dated its outer shell, they determined that the little seedling waited no less than 2,000 years!
The global community of three trillion trees, with an average age of centuries, has stories beyond our wildest dreams. Some have seen the rise and fall of civilizations, changes in our ways of life, and the moving from the sacred to the urban. Let’s talk about three species in particular because of their astounding age ranges, contribution to their communities, and their grandeur. All are being challenged by climate change.
The first is the Sacred Baobab Panke Tree. The biggest and longest living flowering tree discovered in Africa is 
found in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and is approximately 2,500 years old. The Baobab tree is found in the African folklore and mythology, and wherever they grow is a place of significance to the indigenous peoples. There are over 300 uses including their iron-rich leaves which are boiled and eaten like spinach. Their seeds can be roasted to make a coffee substitute and also pressed to make oil for cooking and cosmetics. The fruit has six times more vitamin C than an orange. It’s even fermented to make beer. The flowers are pollinated by bats; the taproots are eaten like carrots. Over time, these giant trees hollow themselves out to store water, are a key ecosystem to animals, insects, and birds. They are usually found alone and stand majestically against the African savannahs.
Another magnificent tree can be found in Anuradhapura, India. Prince Siddhartha Gautama, later known as Gautama Buddha, was believed to attain enlightenment after sitting for 49 days under the revered branches known as the Bodhi Tree (Sacred Fig —Ficus religiosa). According to the Forest Research Institute in Uttarakhand, the 
Bodhi tree, also known as Arasa Maram, is alive and healthy to this day in India’s state of Bihar. The birth of this tree reaches back to the third century before Christ. The shrine built around it is known as “The Shrine of the Unblinking Eye.” All Bodhi trees for miles around are considered to be a close or distant relative of the Bodhi Tree at Anuradhapura. In Buddhist mythology, birth, life, and death of the Bodhi tree is steeped in mystery and magic. It is identified by its heart-shaped leaves. Buddhist Monks are forbidden to cut them down or allow for even a single branch to be cut. If completely necessary, they must do a ritual to prepare the monk who will do this act.
Among the giants that stand in Northern Europe, the Holy Irish Yew Tree (Taxus baccat) may live the longest. 
The Fortingall Yew in Scotland is anywhere between 2,000 and 9,000 years old! As they age, they become hollow similar to the Baobab so determining the age becomes unclear. In Ireland, the Holy Yew, always remaining vibrant and evergreen, not succumbing to the harshest winters, became the symbol of death and resurrection to the Druids. They used the heartwood and sapwood from the Yew for their wands, long bows, and staffs, knowing that the tree holds magical powers. Wherever they grew was considered sacred ground. Many abbeys and churches were built around the mighty trees that may have been already centuries old. They were seen as ancient guardians of the magic. The magical Muckross Abbey in County Kerry, Ireland, surrounds an ancient Yew thought to be 2,500 years old.
Being in the presence of giant trees, including the Redwoods of California and others, brings about profound humility and wonder. A brilliance beyond comprehension can be felt of this spectacular grandness. The wisdom for the sake of every living thing may not come from humanity alone. Perhaps we can feel the lessons and the connection we truly have when we understand the selfless giving of nature all around us. The astounding creativity and problem-solving chops of the divine in plant form can be inspiring beyond our wildest dreams. Perhaps we can listen to the musical language of nature and be guided to a place of reverent action. Where are the answers to keep each species alive? It may just be that they are in every living species and beyond, into the great creative knowing. In our gratitude, love, and devotion to all that serves us, perhaps we’ll find what is ours to do however small it may seem. Isn’t it and hasn’t it always been all of us together? Perhaps we can allow a vision of a harmonious future for nature and humanity to actually be….
This article is a part of the 2019 APRIL / MAY issue of Whole Life Times.