I knew that something had changed

The strong spears of bulbs in bud. That’s the tree puja tree behind.

July 28th, 2009

Again, I went in my bare feet when the sky was already lightened. It was no decision today – the feeling to visit the tree, to practise the ritual, was clear and simple. The ground was not so cold, a bit of a wind was blowing, no drips or rain.

I squatted beside the tree, planting the incense, pouring the water, muttering the words and I knew that something had changed. The tree seemed to glow in the dawn light. ‘The tree is glowing’, I had thought when I first looked at it. Now came the thought, ‘the tree is happy.’ And I knew that the tree was preparing for Spring, that its blood was starting to flow and its buds to swell. There was a lightness and a quickening. ‘The tree is happy’, came the thought again and again.

With my feet on the not-so-cold earth, I listened. A bird kept on with its song, the wind chimes gently rang as if far away, the whisper of wind in leaves, a beautiful morning.

I stood and placed a hand on the tree. I could feel that the buds were swelling. The tree is definitely happy. I walked back; there were daffodil spears between the stepping-stones.