Field Guide to
What Really Matters:
Love

The Roots of Love

For most of my life I’ve spent a lot of time living near mountain forests, where I developed my love of trees. While pine trees dominated the landscapes I wandered through I was always attracted to the smaller, more delicate aspens that grew in and among the evergreens. 

My father called them “quakies”—short for the official name Quaking Aspen—because their leaves appear to tremble in even the slightest breeze. They seemed vulnerable with their slender trunks and those constantly moving leaves on thin, flat stems, which is probably why they touched my heart. 

That the frail-appearing aspen trees were able to withstand the roaring mountain winds, was nothing short of a miracle to me. But their design is key to their survivability. The trembling of the leaves safely disperses the wind as it passes through, protecting the trunk from the full impact of the gale. 

The trunks of aspen trees are much more flexible than rigid hardwood trees and can bend in the wind and snow and return to normal after the storm. The trees adapt to stress over time and become sturdier in windy locations. But they continue to yield and flow with the air movement, rather than becoming more resistant.

However the true miracle of aspen trees, I would learn many years later, is what happens underground in the root system. Scientists now know that an entire grove of these trees is actually a single, massive organism, connected by a vast network of roots that function in community with one another. While a single, solitary aspen tree might be destroyed by harsh mountain conditions, the interconnectedness of the grove helps all the trees survive the storms and stresses that come their way.

​

If one area of the grove is in a drought or needs nutrients, the interconnected root network will send water and sugars from other parts of the grove. They also connect with neighboring plant species and share carbon, nitrogen, and water with them through fungi attached to their root system. When an old trunk dies the underground network sends up new sprouts to grow in its place.

Of equal importance is the fact that while each tree gives to its “neighbors”, each is also capable of being the recipient of the sharing of others whenever there is a need. No tree sacrifices itself for others—all of them participate in a two-way flow that maximizes the wellbeing of the entire grove.

These are remarkable lessons of nature that can teach us the fundamentals of genuine love that we are studying on this path:

• What looks like weakness is actually a way of listening and adapting to the world around it.

• Flexibility makes it possible to withstand external stress.

• An interconnected foundation provides strength for the entire community.

• Sharing of resources supports the wellbeing of all.

• Receiving what is needed is just as necessary as giving to others.

Photos