Last August, Kath and I traveled to western NY to visit Allen. While there, we took a trip down to Letchworth State Park, nicknamed “The Grand Canyon of the East” where the Genesee River, for thousands of years, has cut a gorge over 15 miles long and as deep as 600’. The gorge and its surrounding area are a mix of exposed rock and towering, dense forest. In the southern part of the gorge, the Genesee roars spectacularly over three waterfalls - the Higher Falls, the Middle Falls, and the Lowers Falls. The park is one of the most beautiful places to be found in the eastern half of the United States.
It was here that I saw these trees, suspended over the river and barely holding on. Their foundation of rock and soil had been eroded away, leaving them almost helpless to the pull of gravity. It seemed as if they were doing all they could to hold on to that little bit of cliff and put off their certain fate for at least another day. This was one of those times when life seemed to be so unfair - how just by chance, the wind had carried the seeds of these trees to the cliff’s edge instead of onto solid ground.
In many ways, we too, deal with chance. Life sometimes puts us in places and situations we wish not to be. Things happen that are out of our control. This is where I saw a lesson from the trees. The three trees had not given up or given in to their predicament. Neither did the other trees around them. They all chose to change and make the best of the situation.
I noticed they were no longer giving energy to the expanding emptiness beneath them. Instead, the trees were extending their new roots laterally behind them, rather than sending them naturally downward. In this way, they were reaching back into the cliff, anchoring themselves where the rock remained solid, and where the soil could nurture them. They were also sending their roots to join those of the other trees, which were also changing how they grew, and in turn, were reaching out to them. Beneath the ground, the trees, with their roots all intertwined, were holding on to each other, helping to keep the three from slipping away. The other trees benefited too by anchoring themselves laterally, stabilizing the bank from further erosion.
It was an inspiring moment to me. The three trees were able to make changes and reach out for help, and the other trees answered. The trees intuitively knew that their survival depended upon each other, and that being a forest was better than being on their own. Change is hard. Reaching out for help, and even giving help, is sometimes harder. It is something we all must work on whether we are on solid ground or not. We all need help at times, and at times we all need to help each other. If not, sooner or later, we all will fall. Nature, it seems, has it figured out. We just need to keep our eyes open to what she is trying to tell us.
