The Guardian Pine

If the Two Hundred Acre Wood in Lanark has a guardian, then this tree is that guardian, and she is a dear and beloved old friend, someone I always look for when we round the curve and approach the gate of the place.

The great pine is visible for miles, and she stands relaxed and easy in her place by a century old cedar rail fence on a slope along the western perimeter of the property, immensely tall, several feet in diameter, and sculpted into a flowing Zen shape by the strong winds which blow across the hill at any time of year and have been shaping the tree since she was a mere sapling. I took this photo from a very long way back indeed.

In recent weeks when ice, blowing snow and rain have been cutting a swath through the highlands and bringing trees down everywhere out there, I have been asking myself on every trip, "How is Tree doing, is she still standing and is she all right?". Then we round the curve, I see her in her place by the fence, and I sigh in profound relief. She is still there waiting for me, and she always seems to be waving in greeting, her mighty curving branches beckoning to me in a way which is both companionable and welcoming.

My friend is a Zen master who knows how to live harmoniously with the elements - she bends and flows in wind and storm alike, and she does not break apart or come tumbling down in the field where she lives - she just goes with the flow. With no apparent effort on her part, she is serene, mindful, rejuvenating and such a great joy to spend time with - in my dark times, she is the companion I long for and go to at the earliest opportunity, and she is always a comfort and a voice of wisdom. I should like to be more like her, and I am working on it. . . .

Tree is the perfect metaphor for my life and my regular but rather rickety Buddhist meditation practice, and she was the perfect image for the family Yuletide card this year. She should have appeared here long before now.