I live in a small New Hampshire town close to Main St in a neighborhood of massive, old Victorian homes.
At the Town Meeting last fall the residents voted to replace the sewer system on our street. By late June the process commenced and – without notice – the public works department closed access to a section of the road and chopped down a towering maple tree which was more than a hundred years old. Access to the road and been blocked and visibility limited so that by the time we found out about it it was too late to do anything – such as explore options to cutting down this lovely, long term inhabitant of our neighborhood.
Now when I look up into the sky from my front yard I no longer see the tree’s massive graceful branches, I can no longer hear the rustling of its leaves or sit in its dark shade on a hot summer day.
In the local press I have followed the occasional town disputes about saving a beloved tree or keeping a granite boulder deemed in the way of progress. Often these battles go on for a long stretch of time. But we had not been notified and did not have the option to organize and make our voices heard.
I usually walk past the tree every day at dusk when reflections in the windows of the looming houses create strange apparitions. On the first walk since the tree’s absence I noticed that someone had placed a cup filled with bright pink flowers – Indian paintbrush, I think -on the remaining stump. And some hearts constructed of pipe cleaners lay on top of it too.
A few days later there was a piece of paper stapled to the stump on which a poem was written. It was from The Lorax and read,
“I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.”
And I’m asking you sir, at the top of my lungs,
Oh please do not cut down another one.”
Jupiter is now in Cancer and forming a harmonious aspect to Chiron the asteroid of the Wounded Healer. There is an opportunity with Jupiter’s wise, benevolent influence to understand and heal wounds – particularly those associated with home and family – from an expanded perspective. It is a good time to look at how we deal with painful events and when we can’t avoid them, how we can learn from them,
With Chiron in Pisces raising the level of consciousness is indicated. Forgiveness and surrender are key.
The family in my neighborhood illustrated this clearly by creating the little memorial for the tree and expressing their love and appreciation for it as opposed to- for example- calling town officials to angrily shout at them or blame the workers.
We can hope that everyone learned a little bit from this incident and that residents will also now know that we need to exercise more vigilance in protecting the things we love about our neighborhood.
