Aspens

I have recently undertaken a project to make a walking stick out of the trunk of a small aspen tree. In the process I have learned that aspens grow in clonal colonies. These colonies are derived from a single seedling. Each sapling is a sucker that grows from the root system. So in a grove of aspens the tress are inexorably tied together underground. They are a family.

A grove of aspens stretches their trunks straight toward the sky, their exquisitely white bark set off with dark markings and silvery green leaves trembling and shimmering in the breeze. But all aspens do not grow straight; some are crooked. For some reason their trunks have grown twisted or bent. Nevertheless, they remain part of the family, standing firm in the circle among their aspen relatives, an eternal family reunion.

That’s how it is for aspens. What about us humans and our families? There is a connection, an underground thread, that is just as real. The underground thread connects us by blood that is passed through the act of creation. The thread connects through shared history and experiences. And love. There is love which is felt. And love which exists only as a wish, love which is longed for, and love which is the object of hope.

Blood, history, love. An invisible connection, strong and unbreakable. A grove of aspens standing tall and straight, joined by the underground thread.