Narda Pitkethly is the founder and CEO of the Nardagani Reading Program and author of Nardagani: A Memoir – Finding Light in the Shadow of a Brother’s Disappearance. Here is the thought she offered me when I asked her to reflect on her feelings about trees.
I decide to go out on our back deck to talk with my favorite tree. She is a tall aspen. Often I see faces in the curves of her branches with her heart-shaped leaves as eyes. The tree and her many faces often comfort me.
Silmara Emde of the Orange Lamphouse Studio is a photographer and visual storyteller. When I was ready to have some new headshots taken, she is the professional I chose for the job. Her quote is encouraging.
Trees and people are the same in the way they both contain in themselves the great potential to grow into all their magnificence.
Andrea Courey, medium and author of Conversations with Chloe and Magical Thinking, has some basic advice.
How to stay grounded in a crazy world? Just ask a tree.
Barra is a horticulturist.
Trees are like people—you never know what’s happened to them.
Rebecca S. Valla, integrative psychiatrist, who is board certified in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, found comfort in her backyard trees as a child.
As a child, climbing trees, nestling on a limb, and leaning against the trunk brought me peace. “My” trees gave me the gift of refuge and renewal, which I greatly needed at that time.
Adina Arden Cooper describes herself as a mental health counsellor, life coach, and creative entrepreneur. She works in Nashville, North Carolina, and offers her advice for those who are stressed.
If you feel stressed or overwhelmed, go for a walk in the woods, amble through a garden, plant some flowers, or simply sit beside a tree. I promise you will feel a stronger sense of peace and contentment as a result.
Jaisa Sulit, neuro-rehab occupational therapist and author of Purpose in Paralysis, offers a way of capturing the essence of a tree in water for its grounding and centring effects.
Drawn to a conifer, I stopped to connect. Its presence made me feel grounded, centred, and confident. “Can I work with you today?” I asked, after which a feeling of safety and being loved arose in my body. I raised my left hand and absorbed the tree’s energy in through my palm, up my left arm, across my torso,