This is something I wrote awhile ago for Aotearoa Anarcha-fem zine”Misfit”. Enjoy.

One day when me and my 8 month old (he’s now 28 months) were visiting the gardens in town and he fell asleep in his pushchair I decided to take a rest myself under a lovely little old ginko tree, special in her own way but not the major part of this story…

I lay down on the grass in the shade from the mid day sun.

Somewhere not so far away behind a few shrubs and a hedge and amongst some bushes council gardeners were buzzing away with a chainsaw and I knew that I probably wouldn’t sleep thru the noise even if Sacha, too exhausted from playing all morning for anything more than sleep could. So I half contented myself with people watching and being able to R E L A X for a little while.

It was after a short time of this that I really began to notice something. Something being that the trees or one in particular – a very large one in front of my view, except from a light rustle of wind and birds and insects stood so still and calm and peaceful and this struck me as a beautiful comparison to the people, scurrying around bothered and hurried about by all the everythings they fill their lifes up with and the more I looked back and forth between the tree – graceful, gentle, large, accepting and wise and the people – tense, busy, loud and plundering on, I saw these huge comparisons.

I guess this could sound a little judgemental but I could also see this human ‘smallness’ in me as well, like how stressed out little things can get me. Unlike the tree, who just accepts all those insects living around, beneath and within it, whilst I freak out over the flies in my home like they’re poisonous or something.

I felt blown away looking at this tree, I was mesmerised by its serenity, that something so big can be so still and just living to grow and be and breathe and exist and we are so small and ignorant and foolish compared. After this experience I started to take trees seriously again, to try to be more tree-like, (when I remember to). It replenished my belief that all living things have souls and trees are much more than just scenery, they exist to show us a better way of being, and are so much more evolved than us silly little people.

END

AFTER thought on Trees…

I think a tree would make a wonderful support ‘person’ in labour and birthing,

imagine holding or resting against the trunk of a special tree, (perhaps one you feel you can rely on, who lives close by and who you feel you can comfortably lean on) as you breathe thru an awesome contraction. It would give you so much energy and strength.

I also think it would be amazing to birth in a forest. Labouring can take you into such a primal space free from inhibitions, in this place you are much more able to connect with the forest, let the forest open you up, reveal its hidden secrets and release your fem power.

While I acknowledge that not all wimmin are able to birth completely naturally (without intervention) – myself included – if you can, a forest would be a wicked place to do it.

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