They do not merely beautify the landscape or participate in its construction. They inhabit it…
They are the only ones to draw from the earth the elements they transform into foliage supporting the sky. Culturally, they are the great pillars of the world, mediators between the heavens and the earth, passing through the environment in which we live. Hence their potential for mystery and revelation, which flourishes in the great symbol of the unconscious : the forest. Did not Buddha experience enlightenment at the foot of a tree? They are gateways to an unknown that invigorates the soul. Thus, they fascinate us as much as they soothe and replenish us.
Yet it is when they seem withdrawn from the landscape that they offer themselves most fully. Winter reveals in the movements of their branches a similarity to our own. This makes them closer and more accessible, rendering them more human. On several occasions, I have surprised them, as if singing, dancing, running, or strolling among friends. As if they were in the landscape as we are, frolicking there before resuming their responsibility between heaven and earth.
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