I have a friend …
\nstately and strong, towering over , soaring to dizzying heights. \u00a0He is a beautiful blue spruce, whom I greatly admire.
\nHe is extremely tall, possibly 40 feet in height and rather thin. \u00a0When the wind blows he sways, dramatically and jubilantly in the sky , like a Moko Jumbie man dancing on his stilts in the carnival.
\nIn high winds, the kids have often wondered if he might come crashing down .. \u00a0on us. \u00a0But he has never given me a moments worry, as I assure them, \u00a0He is strong enough to bend.
\nHe actually resides in the neighbours yard, \u00a0so he doesn’t ‘belong’ to me, \u00a0but I believe he knows just how much I admire his strength. \u00a0He guides me too, with the wisdom of his years. \u00a0When we first bought this house, \u00a0there he was among the many trees that we admired. Beautifully framing our property. \u00a0When I look to him now, I am reminded of our first neighbour here, not too much older than me, \u00a0how kind she was to my littles, and how very much she loved the myriad of flowers and plants, that crowded our yards. \u00a0Then she got sick and later she died and that lovely spruce and I looked on in sadness as new home owners ripped out many of the flowers that she had worked so hard to cultivate with Love and admiration in her gardens, that selflessly offered us their beauty. \u00a0But we, \u00a0my tall friend and I, \u00a0we remember Glenyce still.
\nEach time the house next door has changed hands since then, \u00a0we each, the spruce and I, say a silent little prayer that my beautiful old friend will be spared a harsh extermination.
\nSo in this, he teaches me the importance of beauty, and kindness and compassion. He is not young, \u00a0I am certain – not at that height, \u00a0and I am humbled by his age and the wisdom he offers.
\nSometimes when the winds of the world have been particularly harsh, he is forced to lay down a few branches and I am worried that he may become stripped, bare, exposed and bitter. \u00a0Instead, \u00a0when I look up to the sky, \u00a0there he is standing just as tall, \u00a0quietly bearing his loss, showing not a bit of resentment. Somehow, resiliently he adapts, \u00a0he stretches, he sways, he soothes. \u00a0He allows the squirrels to tickle him up and down, never once does he complain or cast them out. The Sharp-shinned Hawk comes to rest on his very top, \u00a0probably eyeing up a sparrow or two, but he does not stand in judgement. \u00a0This too is the circle of life he signals to me.
\nHe is lucky enough to be surrounded by friends, who shelter him and lend their delicate scents to harmonize with his own in pines and cedar. They help to keep him strong and make him feel less alone in the world. Once or twice flying bits of rubbish have lodged themselves on his branches, but he won’t hold on to such things for long. \u00a0He appears confident enough to recognized the majesty of his own natural beauty.
\nHe offers the beautiful gift of perspectives. As his gaze soars literally above the tree tops, \u00a0and when he looks down it is always in kindness, and reverence, never once failing to spot the beauty that dances around his toes.
\nHe teaches me much, my beautiful friend, and somehow he never makes me feel … \u00a0 small.
\nEach morning when I open the blinds, \u00a0I look to him … \u00a0for reassurance of life.
\nHe is tall, he is strong, \u00a0he is rooted so beautifully, and deeply in the earth. He sways in the breeze, in the soothing rhythm of life. \u00a0He is wise and he is kind, and he remains always strong enough to bend.
\nAnd in this he comforts me.
\nHe is my neighbour, I guess, my teacher, my guide, \u00a0but more than this … \u00a0he is my friend.
\nAs I look out at him happily dancing in the sunshine against a beautiful blue sky, \u00a0I always smile ..
\nand I know he,
\nis smiling too \u2665<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have a friend … stately and strong, towering over , soaring to dizzying heights. \u00a0He is a beautiful blue spruce, whom I greatly admire. He is extremely tall, possibly 40 feet in height and rather thin. \u00a0When the wind…
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