There it stands … tall and phallic … its roots dipping into the
streams of the underworld … its boughs reaching for the heavens.
It is all things. It is food and shelter. It is a scratching post and
it is wood. It is an evergreen … symbolizing immortality. Perhaps
that is why it is the Christmas tree … the cosmic tree of light
… glittering in the darkness as do stars in the heavens … its
candles the reborn souls of the dead resting upon its branches.
It is a deciduous tree … shedding and budding each year … it is
the ressurection … the dying and the reborn. Oh the symbolism. Is a
cigar a cigar? Or is it more? To some … the tree is just a plant
with the feature of having just enough bark to feed the deer in
winter … and just enough holes to house the squirrels … and just
enough leaves with which to create mulch in order to nourish the
slug-infested tomato plants.
Some think the trees are the abodes of deities and spirits. Some
think elves live inside their hollows. The truth of course is that
trees were created with no other purpose than that of creating houses
in their branches for the kiddies to play in … and for no other
purpose than for climbing … and for no other purpose than for
creating a target with which dogs can practice their aiming skills.
Still … for those who tend to embrace the mystical … trees are
the abodes of Gods … though why an all powerful being would allow
such a lowly cur as a dog to lift its leg in order to soil said God’s
abode defies my comprehension. But what do I know?
There are the various favorite trees which various favorite Gods
inhabit. In Persia … its the Cypress … sacred to Ahura Mazda. In
India … it’s the Bo … incarnated by Buddha. For Egyptian Gods
… its the Sycamore. Rome … cradle to Romulus and Remus … it’s
the Fig tree. For the Greek god Artemis … it’s the Willow. Zeus
… the Oak. The list is endless. Think carefully ye of faith … of
what you do when you cut down a tree for your own purposes … lest
you displace a being who’s been current with his rent checks and had
no suspicion of ever being evicted by mere man. His wrath may be more
than you can handle. And let us not neglect the displeasure wrought
upon man’s best friend when yet another tree is felled … and all he
has left upon which to practice his aim is a newly white-washed
fence.
And then there’s the jeweler … who understood the deep richness of
the tree … and decided to make one in gold … with green enamel
leaves. Ahh … an abode fit for a deity … an abode in gold … to
be worn on a lady’s blouse … where the mighty spirits can live in
eternal peace … and where the dog … hopefully … can not
practice its aiming skills.
Happy New Year to you all. And remember to plant a tree and help the
spectrally needy.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that says
Tidbits Graphics … and then click on the link that says: Tree …
in order to view a golden shelter for the spirits.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark