We are so blessed to live with oak trees on our property. One of my favorite ones lives right in the middle of our driveway. We have a concrete circular driveway, and the tree has a hole about 6 feet across where it resides. I had a tendency to drive into the hole when backing up, so we filled the hole with river rocks a few years back. Over time the dropping oak leaves that stacked and decomposed combined with gravity have made those river rocks sink in pretty deeply to the soil surrounding the tree. One fall afternoon when we were admiring the majestic oak, James said to me “I wonder if it is really good for the tree to be so closed up with concrete and rocks around it” I agreed, but that was the extent of it. I made a mental note, intending to research this to see if it was true.
As for the giant oak in the driveway, sure enough, we needed to move the rocks away from the base of the tree, which lucky for us we have a strong son who made short work of it. The rocks, leaves and acorns had piled up about 12 inches up the oak, and that can cause the bark to rot, which will ultimately kill the tree. Thankfully we got to it in time.
It is amazing how many acorns these trees drop, and the squirrels work double time when they do to collect them and bury them around our property, or hide them in their hiding spots. I think they forget about some of their hiding spaces, and that is when I see the little new baby oak sprouting up.
One of my favorite quotes is from poet and author James Allen, who wrote As a Man Thinketh “The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.”
We are like the acorn, and have the mighty oak already inside us. Every dream we dream is a seed we sow. Whether our vision comes to maturity or not is highly dependent on our intention. if it is from love and for the greater good, you are headed in the right direction. You can make your dreams happen by sheer will, but when you know that you have the help of the Universe if you are working to serve others, the journey becomes so much easier and so much more fulfilling.
The realization of our dreams is also highly dependent on the nurturing we give it along the way. If we let doubt and negativity pile up, just like the rocks around the oak will rot the trunk, it will cause the dream to wither and die. If we don’t keep it in the forefront of our consciousness it can get forgotten. I make it a daily practice to dream- this is not something that just comes naturally for me.
I have considered myself to be more “down to earth”, or “fact based” When I would dream, I would get impatient, and want the result right now. Then I felt disappointed and dissatisfied, feelings I don’t particularly like. So it became easier for me to just stop dreaming. I kept my thoughts firmly focused on facts and realities.
Then something happened, I had flashes of insight, that showed me that the reality I was in was actually the life of my dreams. I dreamed of having a loving husband and partner, a beautiful space to live with my children nearby yet independent of me, of having a successful business, of being able to help others, of riding my bike…
Everything good in my life was once a dream-what a realization! Now it is one of the 5 things I do every day, I dream, reflect, read, write and pray. I am creating my life with intent- and the tree is growing healthier every day.