The Message in the Trees

I heard it before I saw it, and I couldn’t believe it – the sound of the trees swaying in the breeze this morning here in North Carolina.

Back in Oklahoma, when we lived on the farm, it was mostly wide open spaces, but we had a row of cottonwood trees near the pond, and I would listen for messages from the tops of those trees.

Sometimes it was more of a feeling before you even heard it. For example, a warning of an impending storm. It always occurred in the tops of the trees first -- that eerie change in the wind. And it was a change in wind in Oklahoma because unlike North Carolina, the wind always blows there. I loved that feeling and sound - no need for screeching tornado sirens to rattle your nerves out there in the country. There would be a sudden quietness like the universe was holding its breath, and then if you are an eavesdropper of any talent at all, you would hear a whispering beginning high above in the uppermost branches.

Now this is the order of it all. First you feel it - that shivery feeling running across your neck and shoulders; then you hear it – as the leaves rustle around adjusting to the change in the direction of the wind; and finally you see it – the dipping and bowing of the branches as they began to announce to all of nature that a change is in the air. There is a heightened awareness of your surroundings as you begin to scan the skies – a knowing of sorts that makes you want to gather your loved ones into your arms and seek a place of safety. And yet there isn’t any fear, because the universe itself has spoken, and you have listened and responded to the message in the trees.

Now I don’t want you to think that Okies are constantly scanning the skies for storms. That is just one of the wonders of nature they can observe. There are times, especially at harvest time, particularly just before dusk, when the wind had slowed to a gentle evening breeze, that there seems to be a special communication in nature. It is at this time – if you listen intently, you can hear the swaying of the leaves swishing softly in the tops of the trees and at the same time you can hear the rustling of the dry beards of that golden wheat rubbing together as the breeze touches them with its gentle movement. And in my mind’s eye I could picture the Indians out there on the plains honoring the Great Spirit for this beautiful earth and later the farmers, plowing up those plains, planting that wheat, and thanking God for a bountiful harvest and I would wonder …could it be that this soft swishing sound in the tops of those trees is the ‘Great Spirit of the Indians’ riding his painted pony, a gentle breeze, bareback high above the earth; and could it be that the rustling sound in the wheat field is the ‘God of the Farmers’ footsteps as He takes His evening walk through those ripened fields of golden grain? And then at that very moment ...in Oklahoma …at dusk …if you are very still -- you hear a whispering in the tops of the trees and a whispering from the ‘amber waves of grain’ in the field; and you will know in your heart that these two Great Beings (who are really one) are communing the secrets of the universe and you will understand that you are truly blessed for having been there.

Yes, I heard it before I saw it and I couldn’t believe it – the sound of the trees swaying in the breeze this morning here in North Carolina, and the message was the same as the one in Oklahoma …and that message is Love.

©2005 Ilene Madrigal