Notes from the Forest: January - Reading to a Tree

I'm a creative person, always on the lookout for new ways to connect with nature. But it’s not just about being playful with ideas – it’s also about neuroscience and the human attention span. Our brains are wired to seek out novelty – that’s why we quickly grow tired of our latest purchase and find ourselves attracted to something new. We feel more alive and connected when we’re experiencing something for the first time.

Which is how I found myself on a very cold hillside, surrounded by sheep, reading to a tree. One thing led to the next and it seemed like the only thing to do on a sunny snow-day. I read a passage about human emotions from Anne Dixon’s ‘A Woman in Your Own Right’ – and I have to tell you it felt wonderful.

The tree listened with great respect, although I am sure it felt more than a little baffled by some sections of the book – for example the idea that ‘you need to know how to identify your feelings’.  I just don’t think trees find this difficult in the way that we do. Some sentences had so much more meaning and others seemed so ridiculous and petty; perhaps as a result of hearing myself speak the words aloud and sensing how the tree would perceive them.

To put this into context, I should explain that I recently read a study that proved that plants can hear sounds. The study involved playing the sound of water moving in the soil, with no actual presence of any kind of moisture. The plants roots grew towards the sound. So, plants don’t have ears and brains like we do, but they do respond to sounds.

Even the most hardened realist can appreciate that they are in the presence of a wise being when they encounter a tree of great age. It might be an imaginative leap to share a story with a tree, but I know I’ll be doing more of it – perhaps whispering my secrets into the nooks and crannies of the bark, or a poem or story. I unexpectedly felt such a clear sense of connection and shared communion, I’ll be back for more – although admittedly, maybe on a warmer day.