To plant a tree is to believe in tomorrow. It is to think beyond yourself. We sit in the shade of the trees planted by those who came before us.

How do I express my freedom?

I plant trees.

As Author Nelson Henderson said,

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”

Little Wren

Freedom in the Trees

Since I was a girl, I loved climbing in trees. There was a sense of freedom to me even then to sit in the branches of a being much larger than I was. The forest was always a magical place to me where I would play and run around, making stews in old stumps with my sister and going on adventures with my friends, like looking for salamanders under rocks or creek stomping.

The things which plant themselves into our hearts when we are children are part of our remembrance of freedom that we carry as adults. To me, the act of now planting trees carries on my childlike spirit and acts as a gift to the next generation.

Planting a Paw Paw tree

It is my act of service, gratitude, worship

In a world with so much strife and conflict, I am privileged to be able to consider and prioritize planting trees. There is not a war outside my back door or in my home. My family and I are healthy. To celebrate this, I plant trees.

As one of my signs of freedom of action, I plant trees that will bear fruits and nuts, shade, leaves and roots and bark for medicine, etc in the future. I imagine a human after I am dead finding the trees I planted and enjoying them. My act of freedom has become someone else's bright moment and perhaps wood for a tool or life saving medicine.

To me, it is one of the biggest signs of hope for a brighter tomorrow.

As the saying goes, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is Now.

Ini planting a Chinese Chestnut tree

Simple expression of Freedom

With all of my privilege, the wisdom that has been passed onto me, the things I have seen, and with my able body, I choose to express my freedom by digging a hole into the earth, sticking a young tree into it and putting the soil back over it.

Sometimes the simplest acts speak of the most freedom.

My mom @birdsinparadise & Ini after planting a plum tree this fall

And of course there is the added benefit of planting trees for one gets to eat of and share their fruit while they are alive!!

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks, and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”

The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,”
they say, “and you, too, have come
into the world to do this, to go easy,
to be filled with light, and to shine.”

~ Mary Oliver When I am among trees

This is @mountainjewel's entry into @sagescrub's Freedom Challenge: How Do You Express Your Freedom?