Shara Grove Holistics

I had an interesting experience a few weeks ago that took me by surprise.

Where I (we) are currently situated is at a plant nursery in Queensland Australia. A beautiful 19-acre property, and the owners take good care of us, and we can safely say that this has become a home to us.

Léon has been looking after and improving their gardens and general landscape since being here (and he has done a fantastic job), whilst I’ve been pottering around here and there as well as working on my Cosmic Freedom space (you can see more of this via my Instagram).

The property is as sustainable as it currently can be, and the owners are big on no chemicals and pesticides to be used on any of their plants. Upon first introductions to them and the property, we were shown this magnificent tree. A gorgeous tree that had been on the property for a while, but once the owners got themselves some bees, it became apparent that the tree was harming the bees.

Cadagi trees are native to Northern Queensland but can be known as invasive due to their high seed count. Cadagi trees produce a resin that bees find useful in building their nests, but as the bees collect the resin, the seeds end up sticking to them as well. So, they take the resin back to the hive, along with the seeds, use it all to build nests, but by doing that they end up blocking themselves in due to the paction of the seeds, which then leads to overheating and suffocation. The owners knew that sadly, the tree had to go, and Léon was going to be the one to chop it.

When it came to the day, I helped Léon out, but I didn’t predict the low-level anger I ended up feeling. I took a couple of moments whilst Léon was getting ready to honour the tree and say goodbye. By doing this I could feel this sadness wash over me and it didn’t matter that I knew the tree was harming the bees, something about it, or something about me being there didn’t feel right in my gut.

Léon began his work, and I stood back and kept an eye out for his safety, but then something happened. My eyes were focused on Léon and making sure he was safe, but my minds eye was being shown something else. I was shown what felt like flashbacks to a Native Indian life I perhaps had. I saw a young yet very mature man standing next to me, it was almost as though we were on the hill (or a hill) together, looking down on something with anticipation of what was going to happen. I was shown a shaman (I have a shaman as a spirit guide) who expressed his anger in humanity and the disrespect it has towards trees. I was shown how destructive we had become to the land. I was shown war, terror, anger but also deep culture and the roots it creates amongst nature and the planet.

By the time the tree had fallen my minds eye stopped and I was back fully in the present. I walked down and saw this beautiful looking tree defeated and broken. I cried and the tears took me by surprise.

I know my connection to trees run deep, and I feel like I’ve only really gone just below the surface of exploring it, but this experience really proved to me how connected I am to them. I can hear them speak. This tree knew what was going to happen, for it had been spoken about for a while before this day. It had accepted its fate, and I respected that. Like an herbal witch that accepted she was going to be burned at the stake. The tree accepted what was going to happen and held no hard feelings. But the tree still had plenty of life in it, and I think that is where I got caught up.

I walked next to the trunk and in between of all of its branches and just cried at the sadness I was feeling. It sucked and all of it took me completely off guard.

Something that is important to both Léon and I, is making sure whatever is killed is honoured. Meaning if one day we were to kill our own cows for beef, we make sure we use as much of the cow as we can. Likewise with the tree, Léon knew ways he could honour it and make the most of its death.

He started off by using chunks of branches as edging for the garden beds around the property. Due to oxidation, the tree trunk and branches changed to a greeny/blueish colour once chopped, which will last a few-several months before it turns brown. Using the branches for edging as added some uniqueness to the garden beds.

We also got our fireplace centre piece from the tree.

Léon carved the trunk into a wooden seat, which when you sit on it the correct way is actually quite comfortable.

All the other bits were used for firewood for both us and the owners (sadly, I don’t have any pictures of the tree before the chopping).

It was an interestingly sad day. It took a few days to clear the tree, and I didn’t take part in anything more than the initial cutting day, but I did find peace with it. However, what I’m still wondering on, is if my minds eye gave me a glimpse into where my connection with trees comes from, and possibly how to explore and tap back into that connection again?.. I know there is more depth to my ability to communicate with trees, I just need to figure out how to explore it further…