Thread: How are trees like stars?

I'm very fond of both, and particularly in the case of our sun and certain great oaks I've known, that fondness spills into reverence. The two are very similar in the way they operate in the universe, in their stolid generosity, plain beauty, and the crucial simplicity that enables the cacophony around them. In Buddhist folklore, trees are the homes of devas--angels or deities--and of course the sun is the source of every arch-deity from Ra to Yahweh.

Anyone feel the same way? Disagree? Have elaborations? Poetry? Criticism?

another tree like thread? maybe all of us tree huggers should make a pilgrimage to the oldest tree on earth?

trees have always had a relationship with spirituality. spiritual people have always felt that trees are giving unconditionally. how many living things offer a piece of themselves to eat? fruits are the only thing on your menu that 'want' to be eaten.

we know however that trees ARE living things. many people already value them as living things. the largest, and as far as I know ONLY american rain forest reserve is in puerto rico. el yunque is not visited for it's wild animals. puerto rico doesn't have large animals, you are mostly going to see spiders, and a lizard or two if you are lucky. el yunque has been called a tree paradise. this tree paradise is recognized for what it is, and it is protected. it really sucks in my opinion actually, to go as a tourist because your are not allowed to walk freely in the rain forest. you are limited to tiny routes.

stars on the other hand, are NOT considered living things. we have observed a life time in stars. stars are born, they age, they die. this scientists stress, are just terms to understand them. that these are just metaphorical terms. but, is it? stars are physically born are they not? stars physically age, do they not? stars physically die, do they not? we base whether or not something is alive based on how life developed on earth, and this is a very tiny point of view. ignorant in the grand scheme of things. ignorant of how tiny earth is in the universe.

I don't think mere humans have the right to decide what is living and what isn't living anymore, especially if we are ignorant to base it solely on our tiny little grain of sand called earth.

Maybe there should be a sub-forum specially for discussing trees.

A tree gives energy unconditionally and unconditionally spills life into the sky in its growing towards the sun. A star also gives unconditionally, and both are a powerful outpouring of energy. Both sustain life. Both provide inspiration. Both are often found in large groups. Forests, or galaxies.

I agree, trees are like the guardians of the earth. They maintain earth's atmosphere in a precise level so that the planet can continue to sustain life. It's like you said, stolid generosity.

you said poetry so here goes,this is just off the top of my head so don't blame me if it is really bad.
Stars through the leaves:

sleeping among giant leaves
and feeling the summer breeze
i drift asleep
and then i weep
as i wake
and see the new day break.
i had a wish
and a such a wish
a star once gave to me
one day i am to be
a star amongst the leaves.

anywho, i have always had a great reverence for trees. my favorite is possibly the beech or willow for their majesty.

I'm more of a hydrothermal vent community fan, myself. Those creatures need no light to live, and feed off of the heat of the earth and the sulfur it spews. Chemosynthesizers. A new food chain, broken from the sun. Proof that alien life can exist farther from the sun than photosynthetic life...

That sounds dark, doesn't it? It's quite far from what's ingrained into the collective subconscious. Perhaps that's why I'm inexplicably drawn to it. I want to reincarnate as a nautaloid~