When one looks at a tree, one isn’t composed of chlorophyll and bark but the image of the tree is not separate from what one is. Of course, if one is compassionate, one may see the tree not merely as a thing but as a wonderful, precious living presence that one is not separate from. So, in sweet wisdom, the negation of separation goes even deeper.
Excerpt from a poem by Walt Whitman:
There was a child went forth every day.
And the first object he look’d upon, that object he became,
And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day,
Or for many years or stretching cycles of years.
The early lilacs became part of this child,
And grass and white and red morning-glories, and white and red clover, and
the song of the phoebe-bird,
And the Third-month lambs and the sow’s pink-faint litter, and the mare’s
foal and the cow’s calf,
And the noisy brood of the barnyard or by the mire of the pondside,
And the fish suspending themselves so curiously below there, and the
beautiful curious liquid,
And the water-plants with their graceful flat heads, all became part of him.
The field-sprouts of Fourth-month and Fifth-month became part of him,
Winter-grain sprouts and those of the light-yellow, and the esculent roots of
the garden,
And the apple-trees cover’d with blossoms and the fruit afterward, and
wood-berries, and the commonest weeds by the road,
And the oldest drunkard staggering home from the out-house of the tavern
whence he had lately risen,
And the schoolmistress that pass’d on her way to the school,
And the friendly boys that pass’d and the quarrelsome boys…
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
Here is the gift – becoming part of what is – the dark side of this is the overwhelming violence in our culture… this is part of us too – oh!
Yes, Sara, but the violence stems from what is essentially illusory. Human violence and indifference are ignorance that is empty of any real substance. 😉
OK we have have ti disagree – violence often ends in death – our last massacre is a perfect example – nothing illusory there.
Yes, but the source of it is primarily illusory (not the outcome to the unfortunate victims).
Yikes but the victims are real and they have loved ones
Yes, it’s sad that sick, foolish illusions can harm real love and goodness… like a spreading cancer.
Oh what great food for thought from Walt Whitman Tom. …the objects we see; the objects we become! Powerful! 💪🏼
Before I forget, I know this sounds kind of wacky, but since the dandelion weed pops up in our yard every year, I was thinking about planting them in a pot and letting them bloom. After looking at your beautiful photo, I am rethinking that project and will pluck ’em and plant em’ next year. We need some more food for our bees to pollinate! 🌻🐝💐
Great idea, Kym! The bees need all the help that they can get. Roundup (that the farmers use) and unending yard weed killers are among the things making it difficult for essential bees to exist. When i was a kid, bees were everywhere. Now… there are not very many. Yes, do bee-friendly things! 😊
Yes, bees were everywhere, and butterflies, too. I remember walking through the uncultivated fields near my dad’s muck farm 65 or so years ago, and the air and flowers were full of buzzing and color. How lucky we are, Tom, to have those memories.
Yes, Paul, we are very lucky to have those memories of such a magical time! 😊 The yards were swarming with tons of bees and beautiful butterflies. Now, unfortunately, butterflies that were standard regulars in the back yard are not around any longer. In the future, kids will have to see them in museums (or our pictures).
BEElieve me, I will certainly do just that Tom. I read a book last month called “Bee Fearless” by a 14 year old named Mikaila Ulmer. She makes organic lemonade with honey and flaxseed. She and her father were on Shark Tank a few years ago to seek seed money for their company, which she started out as a lemonade stand. Some of her proceeds go to saving the bees through education and adopting bee hives. I’m on it my friend. Thanks for the reminder!!! 🐝🐝🐝
Awesome, Kym! (I give monthly to the Environmental Defence Fund).
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 I love that Tom. 💖🙏🏽🤗 I know the organization appreciates your donations my friend. Now that’s action speaking louder than words as my mother used to say!
Reblogged this on Wolf's Birding and Bonsai Blog.
Thanks so much for the Reblog, Africanbirding! 😁
Everything is connected, part of an integral All – we see only a small bit of the All – and even those of us who hold space to look and connect deeper miss more than we can ever see. I have a hunch that’s true also for the trees, the bees, … All I know for sure is the pleasant way I feel when I focus on “other” and ponder the connections that can’t be crisply articulated.
Great image of bee and dandelion!
Thanks, Jazz! 😁
Yes, none of us perceive everything. But if that sacredness visits one, then there is a wholeness that incinerates “deeper” and the need to see more. Then there is no “more” that one can miss.
Nope – dandelions grow the best of anything else in my yard. They add color plus make the park where I walk daily a carpet of yellow. Up close dandelion and the bee – both photogenic Tom.
Yes, dandelions are beautiful. The grass is boring and mundane. 😉
Dandelions are special. What other plant may grant you a wish when you blow its seeds into the wind?