what the trees know: connection as aliveness
I am endlessly fascinated by trees. Their beautiful wintery shapes, budding varieties, summer shade, and fall colors, certainly. But even moreso - their complex, deeply relational inner workings.
Did you know that trees are deeply social creatures? Through their vast fungal underground networks they communicate about threats, exchange water and nutrients, and provide shade for younger trees and plants. They rely inherently on their connections to stay alive and to grow. Recent research even suggests that older trees recognize kinfolk and send the majority of their resources to help their young saplings grow. Trees are deeply human…or perhaps, human are deeply tree-like?
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Much like trees, humans are wired for connection — we need each other to survive. You can see it in the research: isolated adults face sharply higher risks of early death from all kinds of illness. You can see it in our biology too. When mirror neurons were discovered in 1992, scientists found something remarkable: we literally mirror the people around us — catching a friend's laughter, absorbing a boss's stress — as if our nervous systems are always in quiet conversation with the people nearby.
But it’s difficult to see that in our current world. On our screens we can optimize our realities or watch, but never touch, the physical world. In our intimate relationships and on the world stage, our everyday traumas can tempt us to never risk connection at all. Our deeply interconnected essence can so often seem invisible, or worse, like an unavoidable threat.
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And perhaps the trees, again, have something to teach us.
When trees are severed from their natural way of being - in community - they live shorter lives. A row of beautiful oak trees planted along an asphalt sidewalk are not healthy - their roots cannot touch those of their neighbors, who are also suffering, 50 feet away. A tree cut off from its network also creates a ripple effect on the environment. Clear cut forests release carbon stored safely for centuries and destroy essential ecosystems millions of plants, bugs, and animals all rely on.
But here’s the thing: nature is resilient. When those severed connections are healed, the soil, the air, the trees, the animals all benefit. And more than benefit, they become the abundant, generative creatures they always were.
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WE ARE NATURE, my love. Even with all our technologies and concrete - we are animals, who turn to dust when our time on earth is done. And as such, we too are resilient. Our brains are ever-capable of transformative change. Neuroscientists call it neuroplasticity, but I might just call it hope. And those mirror neurons I mentioned? Certainly they can cause you to pass your anxiety to the people you love most. But they can also send out waves of calm when your nervous system is grounded and steady.
When you claim your inherently connected nature, you become abundantly powerful. Not only do you create webs of support that foster mutual flourishing, but you become an agent for generative change in your community. When we take our connection seriously, the whole world benefits. So why not begin where we are? Cultivate the soil underneath our feet and see just how far we can reach towards the sunlight together.