Yesterday I thought of this poem. It is one of my very favorites. I didn’t share it yesterday because I made reference in my post to thinking trees remind me of strong men. I’m sure this might frustrate the offendable. I am sorry. And today, I just couldn’t ignore the beauty of this poem as Kilmer refers to trees as females, so I decided to post it here. I agree with that too. ( I went to a Women’s College.) I love the imagery this poem creates. If you have never read it before I hope you enjoyed it. If you have, what stood out to you this time? I love the part about looking at God all day and the ”leafy arms that pray”. But, I really love the last two lines because “"‘Paintings’ are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.” That is why I do not paint landscapes very often any more and that is one of my underlying life statements. This is also the reason why I didn’t paint at all during the lockdown month. I spent time each day posting older pics of my nature photography. I wanted people to “see the bigger picture” of life and to see the beauty created by the Creator and not me or my creations; not that I’m the only person to show “them”, but because some people are just too fearful or too busy to notice, especially during a pandemic. I understand that doesn’t work for everyone. Some people probably say it is putting too much focus on nature. I think that it is something tangible in our lives, something visible that reveals the unseen, in a way. Nature is filled with lessons and themes of seasons and their reasons, and restoration and renewal, and destruction with a purpose, and strength and power and provision and beauty and joy and hope. I don’t know about you, but I need that! People want to talk about how terrible the world is today. Sure, we can find things to be fearful of or concerned about or angry at or offended by. What good are those things? Why not focus on the Creator and His creation, the good things? Doing so sure does bring me joy. Nothing brings home the point of “not conforming to the pattern of this world and renewing the mind more than this.” I refuse to believe this scripture was only included to keep people from “sinning” and sleeping around or drinking until they are drunk. And that is always how and why I’ve heard it taught. And, on a side note I think it is high time we stop judging those things and maybe help people figure out how to deal with the pain that leads them to do those things in the first place. The world does this, but the Church rarely does and certainly does not do it well. Buried emotions of hurt and pain are always the cause. Religion wants to just tell people to stop. “Admit it, quit it and forget it.” It is always easier to focus on the stopping, rather than the why. This is not unlike a doctor telling a very obese person he/she just needs a knee replacement rather than a counselor, a trainer, and a dietician too. I know that is a controversial sentence. But I think it is very important and what I believe would help. However, it is why I find myself disappointed in people, at times. This is what makes ME sad and fearful. I long for people to speak about emotions and not just the physical and outward behavior. I understand why people don’t. Those things make people uncomfortable and the solution is not easy and it takes time to sort through and uncover the cause and we must be there for people while that happens. It is so much easier for the world’s approach to just “cut out the pain” rather than addressing it. The Church gives much of their support and attention to the physically sick. We must realize that there are a whole lot of people in the world that are “emotionally sick,” already “drunk” and “asleep” and they have no idea and some of those people are actually already in the Church. I understand that the Church is for the hurting and it should be that way. But so many people are hurting, but sometimes the last place to get hopeful, happy Good News is the Church. Should it be that way? No way! Being consumed by the world’s problems and ugliness and letting fear of the future consume our days is no way to live and no way to bring Heaven to Earth. There is so much beauty and hope to see here, today, in this moment. The problem is not all the bad in the world, it is where we place our focus. How can we ever be there for the hurting world and the people in it if we are angry at it, put off by it, distracted by it, or too consumed by judging it? The world is the world. I personally think God has beauty to show us and a new focus for us and therefore, a hopeful, joy-filled perspective to share. If anyone is reading this, you may disagree. That is ok. If you can disagree and still be filled with hope and joy and love for others, and dare I use the the word happiness here, so be it. If you cannot and this stirs up anger and hatred and concern and more judgment, just maybe there is an attitude adjustment or a change of perspective needed. Do not take it to me or from me, take it to God. Sit with it for a while. Listen. We can always benefit from listening. In the meantime, let’s find something that brings us joy and focus on that!. We are always happier and kinder and more sensitive when we do!