When you're feeling lost in life, there are two questions to ask: (1) Who am I? (2) Why am I here? Today's story address the question, Who am I? A ginkgo tree shares its wisdom about being a seed, dealing with resistance, and prospering so you won't feel so lost.
Modern wisdom from an ancient tree
Tuesday, 8 pm. I'm sitting under a huge ginkgo tree. I've had all day to do this one thing, and I have finally made it just in time for it to start to be getting dark.
Now you're probably familiar with Ginkgos. You've heard of the supplement Ginkgo Biloba? It's very popular nowadays.
I didn't realize they got so big! My dad planted two in the front yard of my childhood home. Did you know that there are both male and female ginkgo trees? The one I spoke with today is a female.
Female ginkgo tree at Vander Veer Park in Davenport, IA. Photo taken by author.
Female trees are almost impossible to come by if you go to a nursery to get one. The produce nuts, which many cultures eat. However, apparently when the nuts fall off of the tree, they give off a smell that's pretty horrible. It smells like vomit. Thankfully, here in the Midwest, by the time they start to smell, the weather is cold and things freeze, so we're saved from the smell.
The ginkgo is amazing because it has been around since before the dinosaurs. It's called a living fossil, since there are fossils of the ginkgo that are 200 million years old. And the oldest ginkgo is 3,500 years old! Can you imagine the stories that tree would have to share?
Fruit cluster on a female ginkgo tree. Photo taken by author.
I sit under the tree, leaning against it, laptop ready to record the story. I always start with a prayer to Heavenly Father, and then I say a separate little prayer directed at the tree.
Here's our conversation.
The beginning: you are a seed
"Trees and bees and flowers, indeed, we are all your friends! Please come and spend more time with us."
"There are not many like you on the earth these days. We miss them, and yearn for their return. Will they return? Do you know? Alas, I suppose you don't. No matter. I am happy that someone is seeking my wisdom."
"What would you like to know, dear one?"
I think for a moment. "Well. I didn't actually come with a question. It's something that the Lord has guided me to do and I have developed this skill, this gift, along the way. I am here to gather your stories and share them with the children of men, who are lost. To help them find Jesus, and to prosper in their living."
"Ah, yes! I hadn't realized they were so lost. Time isn't really....time....for me. Not in the manner it is for you. Isn't that curious? That we can exist in this same space but not the same time. What a beautiful thing. The creator is so wise."
"Okay, I will start at the beginning, for the beginning is the perfect place to start when you are lost."
"You are a seed. All seeds need a place to grow. To be planted. God made this earth so you could be planted here. Like all good gardeners, he has also provided you with everything you could possibly need to grow."
"There is one important distinction between a human seed and all others, however....human seeds have agency. You get to choose! You can actually choose whether or not you will grow."
"It's quite odd to me that any being would choose something other than growth, but I was not made to be this way, so I do not understand."
Dealing with resistance
"In the process of growth, you encounter resistance. Again, I don't understand why this is a problem for many, but it is. Resistance is necessary for growth. There can be no growth without resistance. When you encounter resistance, simply take note and adjust. Or allow yourself to be buffeted by it."
"Notice the trees and the plants in the storms and winds. There is no resistance that we offer to winds and the breeze."
I think about a past conversation with a Liriodendron that didn't feel the breeze. "Well, that's because you don't actually feel those things, isn't that correct?"
"Ah, yes, well, that is a good point. I am more aware of it than having an experience of feeling, as humans do."
"But we digress. Resistance is necessary for growth. You are above the plants and the trees. You were created to progress. We were created to support you in your progression at this point in...time. Everything that is on this earth was made for your good. With love. Oh, with so much love you cannot even comprehend it! Your Father and others have so much love for you! It is expansive and never ending. It brings such joy to the soul!"
"I know because I have seen this joy. It is brilliantly colored and beautiful to behold! It is more beautiful than any symphony on your earth."
"But I digress again. I know that our time this evening is short. I apologize. Let me continue..."
We prosper by following nature
"If you look around, you will see all that you need to know. What I mean is, all nature tells you how to live. Just watch what we do, observe our patterns, and follow suit. Do not live out of harmony with nature. She is the queen. She is truly wise. She has learned, through eons of being, how to prosper."
"First, notice how many seeds she gives off. Notice how many fruits surround you as you sit against my trunk."
I had to interject here. "Generally, yes, I most definitely agree. But I think about a human female. She has a limited number of eggs, and only one is released per month, and only for a short number of years of her lifetime."
"Yes, this is true. Her seeds are far fewer than the male counterpart. And yet, how many does she release during a lifetime that are not needed, or not used? The principle remains. Produce more seeds than you expect to come to fruition."
"Not all seeds are meant to grow, you know. Certainly all are fully capable of becoming a new tree, but almost none do. That is not important. What is important is to produce."
"Growth is a process of continually producing."
"Okay, I think I have talked enough about that part for now. Please return tomorrow and I will tell you more."
Final thoughts on feeling lost in life
Feeling lost can be a good thing. It leads to searching for answers. One of my favorite promises from the scriptures is Matthew 7:7. It states, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
Heavenly Father promises that as we seek and ask, we will find. I don't know what your timeline will be for finding, but I promise, too, that you will find. That has been my experience.
(Go here to read part two of the story...)
Main photo by Tobias Aeppli from Pexels
