“All flourishing is mutual.”

-Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

What else would I create for the prompt of generosity besides a tree? Who is more generous?

Thinking of the generosity of trees inevitably leads me to think of Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, and how it devastated me as a child. Yes, it was about generosity, but the end of the story, with the tree obviously cut down by humans, suggested martyrdom, self sacrifice, as the path of generosity. The tree gave, and gave, and then was required to sacrifice their very life to the axe, instead of being allowed to live out their long life, uninterrupted. And no disrespect to Silverstein, whose poetry gave me many hours of delight, but I HATE The Giving Tree. Because martyrdom isn’t the only path for the generous spirit to walk.

Consider trees who are left to their own devices. They clean the air and provide oxygen. Their leaves provide shade in summer, drop in autumn to feed the soil, and shelter insects through the cold winters. They provide food to a wide variety of species. They provide beauty. Many trees even offer valuable medicine, and let’s not forget the sheer pleasure of delicious fruit and syrup, which is an added perk of the nourishment they provide. A standing dead or dying tree continues to provide habitat and sustenance for many creatures, and once the tree falls, the decaying body feeds the soil. At every stage of their life, a tree is a gift – without sacrificing themself. 

Because the gifts of trees are the natural outcome of the trees living their lives, feeding themselves, thriving. Trees con’t convert sunlight and water into food as an act of charity: they are providing food for themselves, and in doing so they are also making it available to the beings around them. They clean the air and play a vital role in the water cycle simply by doing what they do, simply by being who they are. And the more they thrive, the more they receive what they need, the more the beings around them benefit.

Is the tree selfish for meeting their own needs? 

Are you?

Or is it possible that you, like the tree, might benefit the world around you by thriving? Is it possible that living your best life, meeting your deepest needs, is how you become a gift to the world? Is it even possible that your joy and delight is your real path to generosity? 

I like to think so. I like to think we aren’t so different from the trees, when we’re allowed to flourish. 

Art details for those who want them: this piece is meant to represent a Hawthorn tree in early winter, when their leaves have fallen but the berries still cling to the branches, providing food for wildlife and not-so-wild humans. Hand stitched with cotton embroidery floss on mystery fabric (probably cotton? It came from someone else’s discarded fabric stash) printed with rusty metal and black tea, with a halo of tea-dyed silk. 

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