Learning from Nature

This is something I thought I would share for some reason. Something I've been thinking about and feel that other people might find this helpful or at least interesting.

I'm currently trying to learn, about myself, about life, the world, people, etc. I thought the best way to learn is to look at nature. Nature's been around much longer than any of us have, therefore, I believe it has wisdom that many of us don't.

Today I was looking at a tree, trying to figure out what it was trying to tell me. The thought that we are much like trees, wanting to grow and become stronger and better came into my mind. So I began looking at what makes the tree grow.
I came to see that trees and things of nature, like grass, flowers, plants, etc need several things to grow. To name a few, Earth (The soil in the ground), Water (Rain), and Light (The sun). Without all of these things, A tree couldn't grow.
So I began looking at what each of these things mean personally to me.

To me, Earth stands for Love and Growth.
I think that the best way to grow is through knowledge, both learning and teaching. Of course, learning doesn't do much good unless you begin using the knowledge that you have gained but without knowledge, you wouldn't know how to grow or do things. And teaching also helps one grow.
Love I believe to be the most powerful and purest emotion. A emotion that is both selfless and self nourishing if the love is true and pure.

Water to me, stands for Gentleness, healing and cleansing/purity.
Being gentle is the best way to grow, if you push or rush yourself not only will you miss out on some things or forget of some things because you move from subject to subject too quickly - but it takes away the joy of actually learning and growing.
Healing yourself and healing another also helps you grow. Say if a person plays a sport, for example, and they get hurt while playing. The injury will effect their course of growing in talent in the sport, therefore, they have to rest and allow the injury to heal before they jump back into the game. Healing another person allows one to grow because it comes back to the love emotion, Love brings growth and healing.
Cleansing and purity is a lot like the idea of healing, if you aren't cleansed and pure, its like you're blocking the way of growth and results, in my views.

Light I believe to stand for strength, power and knowledge.
As for strength and power, Light is very powerful. It only takes a small amount of it to brighten a whole room. With strength and power, you have the desire and will to grow and you grow faster that way, like the example of a person playing sports again, if the person is physically strong - chances are they'll be better at the sport then someone who isn't.
Knowledge was explained earlier.

So I believe, some things needed for us to grow as beings is Inner strength and power, Knowledge and Love.

If anyone has any views on comments on this they'd like to add, feel free!
Just something I thought I would share.

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Trees also need Air

Hmm, that is true! Trees do need air!

They need a lot more than air! You should study trees more.You think trees need rain? Only if the rain reaches the ground.The rain does need to actually fall on the tree.The tree gets water by capillary attraction from the earth,a fascinating subject in itself. The tree also feeds on a fungus that grows around the roots,the tree also feeds the fungus; neither can grow without the other. There is a lot more to trees than meets the eye!It is well known that the "rings" of a sawn trunk show the age of a tree.But it shows much more than that! It shows what each year was like during its life.Whether the year was a dry year, or a wet year; a cold year or a warm one.It reveals changes in the climate, in the rings of very old trees.
Yes,.trees are quite "magical". Even the evergreens!

Very nice thread!

The beautiful thing about trees is that they breathe what we release and we breathe what they release. We exchange carbon dioxide and oxygen in a symbiotic relationship. They also absorb sulfur dioxide, and nitrous oxides, as well as many pollutants. So they filter our air this way.

Working with trees in magick and connecting to them on a spiritual level can be very effective when understanding how they interact with us everyday physically.

But there is wonder our poor trees are now suffering diseases that cannot be cured. Imagine how overwhelmed they are with all the pollutants humans produce these days.

Our governments are finally realizing how important trees are, because cutting them down as they have has reduced the quality of our air. Now they're trying to plant new trees and building gardens on rooftops but the young ones don't do the best job. This is why forest preservation is so important. Scientists are also concerned because the earth poles are shifting and that causes the equator line to move faster than we've ever seen it. The trees are beginning to suffer that are on that line. The line is moving too quickly for them to naturally reseed themselves. Forests move by expanding through new saplings and climate and weather changes are happening too drastically for them to do so well.

I live beside a forest. I love my trees. :)

I agree somewhat! Though I believe other things too. Like earth to me represents our roots and how we connect with things, air represent our dreams and how we can reach them but how we are still on the ground but how we can be spacious or way to free, fire represents to me the passion, and our inner desires, our wants, and needs, then water represents our emotions a how we react.

But in a way nature represents everything and how we are all connected!!

Well.. The fact is when in night, trees need O2 and when in daylight, Trees need CO2.. Also Trees need good water and good air.. :)

Speaking of trees; I thought that since leaves are light sensitive, it can "see" in a way, like tell light from dark. It might "see" you by your outline.