If you are a regular reader of my River Talk columns, you might have noticed the similarity between the title of my previous column, “A time for peace” and this one. Here’s why: In troubled times like these, I often turn to trees and actively seek peace. 

Peace is more than a word or a concept to be thought about and forgotten. Peace is a practice. If you want peace, BE peaceful. It really is that simple. It really is that hard. And it is worth every action we choose—or decline—to take.

Trees are the often unsung partners of peace. We tend to take them for granted, failing to notice or to be grateful for all they offer, from purifying the air we breathe to gracing our lives with their bountiful beauty while providing a sense of sanctuary and refuge when the world’s problems threaten to overwhelm us.

Deepening your understanding of trees by selecting one with which to launch a relationship can lead to wonderful things. Spending time with your tree as you would a friend, checking in on a regular basis and experiencing its existence by simply being in its presence is a peaceful practice that can improve your life in ways you might not imagine. 

In “Encountering Trees,” Emergence magazine explores the presence of trees as our oldest and most constant companions, noting that, “Since the very beginning we have been intimately linked with these beings, sharing breath within Earth’s great respiration of carbon and oxygen,” and offering a powerful way to experience what emerges as one holds an intention to simply be in the presence of a tree. 

The 10-step practice (www.emergencemagazine.org/practice/encountering-trees/) is simple and yet profound. One step asks that you breathe in and out in five-second intervals while visiting your tree. “Consider the exchange that is occurring: you are inhaling oxygen released by the tree, and the tree is absorbing carbon dioxide exhaled by you. Keep breathing in this cycle, conscious of the rhythmic interchange of breath that is keeping both you and the tree alive.”

Further, it invites one to reflect on the following: “What relationships might the tree have with the soils, waters and creatures—including humans, like yourself—that compose the landscape around it?”

In another excellent publication, Orion magazine explores the relationship between nature and culture. Its designer, Ella Frances Sanders, who also writes and illustrates the Root Catalog column appearing in the magazine’s pages, recently shared her ongoing interest in the Japanese term for sunlight leaking through the leaves of trees—komorebi—and the solace it brings.

“It is reassuring, having countless millions of leaves to  break the fall of the sun, keeping whatever grows under their canopy shaded enough not to burn. Never not surprising, the temperature change when walking from treeless spaces to darkened forest, and never not worrisome what would happen if the chlorophyll decided it simply could not keep up with the altering climate.” (Visit www.ellafrancessanders.com to learn more about this bestselling author and her works).

Lastly, grab a copy of the collection “Old Growth,” in which decades of Orion magazine’s best writing on trees has been gathered (www.orionmagazine.org/product/oldgrowth). Then take it along to read to your favorite tree!