Lessons From Trees

I listened this morning to this talk by Elder Marlin K. Jensen.  It is filled with great lessons for us at Esperanza.

Elder Marlin K. Jensen speaks during a CES Devotional on May 6, 2012, in Sacramento, Calif—“Stand in the Sacred Grove”

 "A careful observer of nature ... can learn some significant lessons from the ecosystem that exists there,” he said.  Four lessons:

 Lesson No.1: Trees always grow toward the light.

"They [the trees in the Sacred Grove] have grown outward — to escape the overshadowing foliage above them — and then upward to absorb the greatest possible sunlight," he said. "Their crooked trunks and branches stand in stark contrast to neighboring trees that grow almost perfectly straight." Trees, like almost all living organisms, need light to survive and to thrive.  Therefore, we need to seek out those things that bring "light" to our lives.   

Lesson No. 2: Trees require opposition to fulfill the measure of their creation.

Elder Jensen spoke of an experiment conducted a few years ago in a designated area of the Sacred Grove. To provide the healthiest young trees a prime place to grow, gardeners cleaned out the area and took away opposition that could prevent the trees from growing. Their hope was that the trees would flourish and develop, as they grew without competition for water, sunlight and soil nutrients.

"As a result, none of the trees in the test plot compared in size or vitality to the trees left to grow more naturally and that had to compete and overcome opposition in order to survive and to thrive," he said.

Equally important is the principle that opposition must exist for spiritual growth to occur or for 'holiness' to be brought to pass.

Lesson No. 3: Trees are best grown in forests, not in isolation.

"If you think about it, in nature it's very unusual to see a tree standing alone," he said. "They almost always congregate in groves, and over time, groves may become forests."

It [the Sacred Grove] is a complicated ecosystem that includes numerous species of flora and fauna that rely on one another for food and shelter in the cycle of life.

We, too, need a similar inter connectedness and sociality for us," he said.

"Healthy trees need an ecosystem; healthy people need each other. People, like trees, are best grown in communities, not in isolation."

Lesson No. 4: Trees draw strength from the nutrients created by previous generations of trees.

Just as a grove of trees flourishes when benefitting from the nutrients of fallen trees, leaves and limbs, so can our lives benefit from the rich legacy left by those who have gone before us.  It is critical for the ‘rising generation’ to be mindful of and draw strength from past generations.  To live fully in the present—and plan for the future—we need the foundation of the past. 

"History in its most basic form is a record of people and their lives and from those lives come stories and lessons that can reinforce what we believe, what we stand for, and what we should do in the face of adversity," he said. "

"Good stories — if true — make good history," Elder Jensen said. "Remember, people, like trees, draw strength from the nutrients created by previous generations."