In this season of Thanksgiving, we find joy in getting together with family and friends. We like eating all the delicious food that is part of the Thanksgiving season.
What if we also took a few minutes during Thanksgiving to thank a tree for all it does for our community? You don’t have to do this on Thanksgiving Day. Just pick a day that works for you.
Then choose a tree that you would especially like to thank. Maybe it’s in your yard, or you can see it through one of the windows of your house. It might share the same block with you or grow near a pathway where you walk or bicycle.
Before you visit the tree and thank it, make a list of some things you really like about that tree. Choose one thing on the list and write it on a piece of cloth. Maybe there are some scraps of material in a basket near your family’s sewing machine. Once you find a scrap of material, cut a strip long enough that you can tie it onto a small branch or twig of the tree.
On that piece of material, use a dark colored permanent magic marker to write one thing you really like about the tree. Then take the material to the tree and tie it to one of the tree’s twigs or branches. Make sure the branch is small enough that you can secure the message so the piece of material won’t blow away in the wind.
Then stand or sit near the tree and enjoy being close to it. Either out loud or in your mind, thank the tree for the shade it provides, the beauty it adds, and any other words of thanks you would like to express.
Let your heart fill with gratitude for the tree. Then head back home. The next time you pass the tree, look for the piece of material you put there. When you see it, it will give you another chance thank the tree for how awesome it is.