Julia Butterfly Hill | Are.na

That is, what happens when all attachments drop off, what are we left with? What is the bare tree? Unmon answers, “Golden wind.” Not still, calm, motionless air, but wind, active, moving wind. The free flowing movement of the wind, unimpeded by any leafy obstructions, is the free flow of our functioning, our motivation, our being. Perfect, but not

young trees need wind to grow properly. When the wind blows, it bends the tree, which tugs at the roots on the windward side and compresses the wood on the other side. In response, the root system expands to provide a firmer anchor where it is needed, and the compressed wood cells change their structure to become stronger and firmer. This altered c

bending this way and that way. Some trees hardly move at all and some rustle quite a bit. The quantity and qualities of tree movement depend on the direction of the wind, its strength, and how long it lasted. It’s important to remember that the load is not the wind. The load is the effects created by the wind. The load is how the trees physically e

The trees make sure that the raindrops don’t land heavily on the ground but drip gently from their branches.

The process of learning stability is triggered by painful micro-tears that occur when the trees bend way over in the wind, first in one direction and then in the other. Wherever it hurts, that’s where the tree must strengthen its support structure. This takes a whole lot of energy, which is then unavailable for growing upward.