On Tree Hugging

I’ve known of tree hugging for as far as my memory goes back.

“Tree hugger” was a name that I heard people calling others. Often as a label applied from a place of discomfort in the name caller, but just as often it was a playful name given from one lover of nature to another.

I began hugging trees at a young age and although from time to time I have become distracted, I have hugged trees all my life.

There has been nothing much to report in this regard… Until recently.

Nearly two years ago, I decided to take a long break from human romance and sexuality. Not from a place of pushing away or avoidance, but rather of dedicating my limited time and energy into other areas of my life and my being. I have been focused on developing a more universal love that goes beyond human relationships. I’m putting in the practice to dissolve separateness and become more interconnected with all life on Earth.

This is where tree hugging has evolved for me. Today when I hug a tree, a spark is lit inside of me. It is a warmth that emanates from within my chest, where my heart resides. It feels like a deep, deep love. I’m sure most of you have felt this deep love for another human – a romantic partner, a parent, a sibling, a friend.

This is what I now feel when I hug a tree. The separateness between me, the human, and the tree, a very different life form, dissolves in the embrace. I feel an interconnectedness along with a sense of wholeness and completeness.

This love and interconnectedness is not confined to the small number of trees which I hug. These hugs are a gateway to a universal love of all trees, all plants, and all life.

I will continue to hug trees. If anyone calls me a “tree hugger,” I will say, “Why yes, indeed I am!”

I am also a tree kisser. A tree caresser. And I am a tree lover!

I encourage all of you who feel timid to hug the trees, TO HUG THE TREES! They are waiting for your embrace and they will embrace you right back. Do not concern yourself with anyone who labels you in a negative manner, for they have simply yet to find their love with the trees.

This chapter of my walk through the redwoods has transformed me. The redwoods will be with me wherever I go in life. When you hug me, you will be hugging these great trees.

Love,
Robin