Ok, so it’s not a real Bodhi tree, which the Buddha sat under. It is definitely not a banyan tree, nor anything close to a lotus in a pond.
It is the tree of Socal (I failed to research the true name of its species because it doesn’t matter :P :P ).
That’s right, it’s the tree, which gives us shade on a very hot 95 degree day in Southern California. It's the tree who's branches sway with the 80s tunes in the nearby motor shop.
It’s the tree we sit under with a coffee for a 10 minute break from our 9 to 5 job. Call it ten minutes of enlightenment or a mere chance to breath from the resounding calls of repetitive work. The branches hover over me like a hippie’s shaggy hair while saying,“Hey dudette, it’s time to chill.”
During break time, I realized that trees are just like humans. We all have the urge to fly like birds, but gravity instead pulls us down to reality. Trees remind me, however, to rise above this human condition. Check out this poem I wrote:
The Humble Tree
- Written by Rohini Chandra
This tree once thought,
I’m planted near walls
Not in a green forest
Like my fellow species
Nor was I cut down.
Born into cement,
I was left to live.
With a few survivors
In sheer hope
Of growing elsewhere.
Stuck in one spot, he said
Certainly, this is a trap
I have gratitude,
But not the longitude
To run wild and free .
Grounded and rooted into soil,
I’ve been through so much
Through the brush fire and
Sun scorching my skin
My bark is now edged .
So I mark this my territory
I won't go running
Only shunning
The very rules of freedom
In martyrdom for turf.
Sometimes we are misplaced,
Just waiting to be found.
So, I drink water from my roots
And grow my limbs
Outwards, defying gravity
Becoming an earnest abode
For all moving things.
Let sacrifice make happiness,
Wherever I may be.
Let my limbs be my mind.
Conspiring my present,
My future.
My deep roots ground me
Through peaceful growth.
I am a stalwart of my species
Sharing leaves of wisdom
With digital travelers...
© 2018 Rohini Chandra, Rohiniworks.com
interesting side note...
