The Religion of the Trees

The Santa Monica Mountains 5

The Religion of the Trees

The Religion of the Trees

by James Clair Lewis

There is an Apple Tree in Amesbury behind the house in which I used to live. I tended this tree, and spent many hours reading books beneath it, and meditating. One day while leaning up against its trunk I asked the Apple Tree in the wordless speech, *Please, tell me about your religion*

The Apple Tree pondered this for awhile, in the way that Trees do, and then replied to me in the wordless speech, *Before I can tell you about my religion, I must first explain to you about the nature of my Life*

*In the beginning there was a Blossom. Bees pollenated the Blossom, and a fruit developed. When the Apple fell from the Tree, it rolled away a bit. Winter came, the time in which most trees sleep, but in the Spring, the ground thawed, and from the Apple, I was born.

*First, I put a root down into the Earth to draw water, & nutrients, and then I sent forth leaves to drink in the Sun. Year by year I grew, and in each year new bark formed around my core. In the days Sun shone upon me, and wind sang through my branches. I listened to birdsong, and observed all the comings & goings of the creatures of the forest. Rain would come at times, washing my leaves, and filling the ground of the Earth with its Blessings.

*Around me grew all manner of other Trees & plants. Together we watched the changings of the Seasons, and the Stars at night. Spreading out from among us, was the whole world, and we lived in communion with all forms of Life. Not a single thing occurred anywhere, that we did not know about, and in the depths of Space & Time, we could feel the presense of the other sentient planets throughout all of the galaxies of the Universe.

*This then, is the Nature of my Life. I want you to ponder this for awhile, so that you will fully understand.

Throughout the rest of the long afternoon, I sat beside the Apple Tree, contemplating what it had *spoken* to me, and holding space with all of the Green Life of the world. Then at dusk, as the Moon rose, and some Planets became visible near the setting Sun, and the first, brightest stars began to shine in the night sky, the Apple Tree *spoke* to me again.

*Now that you understand the Nature of my Life, I can explain to you about my religion. Look now into the Infinite depths of Space. In the Beginning there was a Blossom...