Embrace who you are. Find your joy. Express yourself. Such is the wisdom from my conversation with the burr oak tree in our front yard.
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It was a beautiful, sunny, and windy morning. About 6:30am. As I like to do in the warm weather, I was standing barefoot on the grass, drinking warm water with lemon, giving thanks for my upcoming day. Our cat was back from her nightly wanderings, had had her breakfast (dinner?), and now she was back outside with me.
I decided it was a good morning to read my scriptures outside, and to talk with the wind. After reading, I prayed and felt prompted to go talk with our oak tree instead.
I went to sit under this beautiful tree. I said another prayer, this time talking directly with the tree. I told it I wanted to talk with it, to share its story with the world, if it was willing to do so. This is what it said.
Be who you are
The burr oak has many stories to tell. He has seen devastation, and renewal in his short life. Yet all is the same unto him. The tide comes in, and the tide goes out. All will pass away. In the meantime, the tide comes in, and the tide goes out.
Wander not from your center. Wander not from who you are. All know who they are at their core, if they simply but choose to listen and hear and heed. Follow that voice. It can never lead you astray. It is the voice of love and of goodness.
Follow who you are. The world will tell you that what you are is unimportant. This is not true, but it does not matter. Follow who you are. Bring forth the good that is you, that is crying out for expression. Seek after your own, not that of others. Let them have their own way, just as you have yours.
Peace comes when we do His will. When we choose to express what we have been given. It is that simple. What is His will for you? To be who He made you to be. How silly it would be for me, a stately oak, to try to be a squirrel! And yet this is what humans do. They try to be something they are not. Be who you are. Be nothing else. All else is failure, indeed.
What makes your heart happy? What brings you joy? Others find their way, and sing its praises. Follow not their way, but follow your own. You already know it within. Seek it, find it, express. Express. Express.
That is all.
More wisdom from nature
The stories from the trees and plants bring us back to our essence. They remind us who we are and our connection with the universe. The teach truths about our eternal nature. Personally, they also give me strength and encouragement to live true to myself. My hope is that they help you bring out your true nature as well.
Check out these other stories for more:
This is a story from a willow tree about the nature of God, and finding light in the darkness.
And here is a story from a wild rose bush to remind you who you are.
