Circle of Life - Nature Style!

"Poplar tree chewed off by beavers"

-Copyright May 2008 Judith Hirst-Joyeux

     The movie and stage show, "The Lion King" popularized the concept of the circle of life through the wonderful song with the words by Tim Rice put to music by Elton John.  Our ancestors understood that the events in their lives were cyclical - much like the seasons and much like the life of each plant and animal. It is because they lived the cycles of life that they celebrated them.  It is from our ancestors that we have the celebration of equinox and solstice - Spring rituals became our current Easter, summer rituals became our fairs and rodeos, fall rituals became our fall suppers and Halloween, and winter solstice is now mostly celebrated as Christmas.

      The picture above shows another type of circle of life - that of nature.  The picture is symbolic of the passage of life.  A huge storm of wind and rain ripped through the area and many trees could not withstand the powerful wind.  Branches, limbs and trees all came down.  Trees, as we learned in our grade school science, add new growth every year.  When a tree is cut down, one can clearly see the rings of growth, and tell how old the tree is.  What is noticeable on the tree trunk above is that the center is quite dark - indicating core rot.  The lines showing the tree's age are distorted by the teeth marks of the beavers.  The beavers did not bring the tree down, however, they understand the cycle of life and know that if a tree is gifted to them by the storm, the beavers must harvest it quickly.  Part of the cycle is that some animals and some plants grow through their life cycle to provide life for others.  As the rings in the tree reflect the cycles it has been through, the beaver teeth marks overlay the old circles to show this tree now becomes food and shelter as pieces of it are plastered into the lodge.

     The bigger picture here is how nature cycles and cleans that which is rotten and uses it for something useful.  The big storm cleaned out all the dead branches and those limbs and trees that were not healthy.  By taking them early, good food was provided for the beavers.  Additionally, the beavers "cleaned" the forest floor, leaving space for new grass and trees to grow.  This then, is the sweeping clean to start the new cycle. 

      Nature provides the teaching that it is a good thing to let that which is not serving you - that which is bad or rotten - be blown away, and to let that energy be used for something else.  Nature shows that allowing life to move and change, without controlling it, continues the cycle of life.

      May you find a way to let go of that which no longer serves you, and sweep clean your life to begin a new cycle of growth.

      Blessed be.......Judy  (judy@angelsandancestors.com)