Mother Nature

There once was a mighty pine tree that grew in a small backyard woods. The woods only spanned across the backyards of about 10 tiny houses, but this tree stood out because it was the only of its kind. The other trees had leaves that changed colors with the seasons, and that split and toppled over during Scotian storms, but this pine tree remained the same. It stayed sturdy and green all year round. The tree also grew directly in the middle of the woods, which just happened to be in my backyard. 

As a 90s child I spent most of my time outside playing with the neighborhood children. Since technology wasn’t as advance as it is today we were forced to use our imaginations to find creative ways to have fun. One of those ways was personifying this pine tree and naming her Mother Nature. We acted as if she was a living spirit contained in the form of a tree. Although Mother Nature has a very different meaning for most people, we were strong believers that the energy we felt from the tree was real.

Mother Nature was a large tree. It was tall enough to climb and overlook the woods, and provided enough room to sit underneath. She provided shade on the hot days,  and shelter from the rain. Her soils were rich, and perhaps by coincidence there were several flat rocks underneath her that we used as chairs. As kids we would set times to meet and would gather around Mother Nature. There were even days I would come home and my friends would already be surrounding her without me. We were grateful to her and would show appreciation to our environment and all of its creatures. By believing in this energy we became aware of our surroundings and were cautious not to upset the balance of nature. In many ways this tree was our higher being, almost God like. We would pray to her for all things good to happen in a natural way. For example, when one of the kids mother was diagnosed with breast cancer we asked Mother Nature to help heal her. I am thankful to say that even in 2015 that mother is still alive and doing well. The energy was so powerful that we felt spiritually connected to do better things.

We kept the woods cleaned from garbage and litter. We raked paths throughout the woods and made mud pies to bring Mother Nature as gifts.  We fed all animals from the birds to the squirrels on Mother Nature's behalf, and didn’t pick flowers because we feared it would hurt her. As ridiculous as this all sounds I am thankful for this imaginative experience. It instilled positive behavior and taught me to respect our planet. I became very caring towards nature, its plants and its animals. It made me an activist growing up and for a long time Earth Day was my favorite day of the year. I joined the recycle club at school and was a vegetarian for several years. I felt it was my duty to do everything within my power to help and sustain a healthy environment.

It also showed me the power of imagination, belief and peer influence. What started off as a fun game slowly became an alternative form of reality.  As I grew older it helped me understand things like religion, peer pressure and energy. I believe that these powerful mindsets have effects that go beyond just the human mind. The energy I felt from that tree was something unexplainable. Whether it was a coincidence or destiny, it was an experience that helped shaped me at a young age. I am grateful to have a loving perspective of this planet, and all of its wonderful elements.