KonaYoga.com

The Man Who Planted Trees

In order for the character of a human being to reveal truly exceptional qualities, we must have the good fortune to observe its action over a long period of years. If this action is devoid of all selfishness, if the idea that directs it is one of unqualified generosity, if it is absolutely certain that it has not sought recompense anywhere, and if moreover it has left visible marks on the world, then we are unquestionably dealing with an unforgettable character.

-from The Man Who Planted Trees, by Jean Giorno

Alice Waters claims that reading The Man Who Planted Trees changed her life. Since I hold Waters synonymous with organic food, farmers' markets and eating local, I had to find out more about the book by Jean Giono that was first published in 1953. It's a very short, yet powerful story (nine pages in PDF format here) and for years, people believed that Elzeard Bouffier was a real person who single-handedly cultivated an entire forest in France.

In 1957, Jean Giono felt that an explanation was needed and wrote a letter to an official of a township in  France:

Sorry to disappoint you, but Elzéard Bouffier is a fictional person. The goal was to make trees likeable, or more specifically, make planting trees likeable.

He went on to say that the story had been translated into several different languages and distributed freely. The book was a success, made Giono no money, yet he regarded it to be his greatest achievement. In 1987, the story was retold in a thirty minute movie that won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

What fascinates me about Giono, his character Bouffier and Alice Waters, is passion. I admire their one-pointed attention. They are seized by a desire, find a way to express it and do it consistently. Their visible marks on the world may not even be attributed to them but somewhere along the way they inspire one other person, followed by another then followed by exponential patterns of growth.

Wangari Maathai is a Kenyan woman who founded the Green Belt Movement that has been responsible for planting over 30 million trees since 1977. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.  Alice Waters and her Chez Panisse Foundation started The Edible Schoolyard, a one-acre garden along with a kitchen classroom at a school in Berkeley, California in 1995. Today there are Edible Schoolyard affiliates and sister programs all over the country. All of these people have made visible marks by planting one seed at a time.

Mother Teresa said, "If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one." Imagine if every human being discovered and took hold of their passion and if the idea that directs it is one of unqualified generosity, what a difference that would make in the world. Imagine only a hundred, or even...just one. One person with passion and persistence, like the man who planted trees.




Photo: Hoosier National Forest
Sources: Whole Living Magazine, June 2010: The Whole Truth, Alice Waters, page 132.  Wikipedia.com, The Man Who Planted Trees.

Of Hooks and Things

I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it.

-Mae West

In her article titled "Don't Bite the Hook", Pema Chodron defines the Tibetan word shenpa as the root cause of aggression and craving. Someone says or does something and you immediately react with anger or distaste.  You feel a sensation in your body and without thinking, you scratch the itch or feed the craving. The hook appears and you bite without thinking. Some things are just charged with energy that forces you to respond (almost like a reflex) and you say and do things that you ordinarily wouldn't.

"It's a quality of experience that's not easy to describe but that everyone knows well", writes Chodron. I think Flip Wilson's character Geraldine, tried to explain it best by saying, "The devil made me do it!"

Chodron offers meditation as a way to learn to open and relax with all of the hooks that may appear, without picking and choosing. We can learn to diffuse the charge if we catch shenpa at an early stage, she says. I think we can also do it while physically active and moving through life.

Jehangir Palkhivala has suggested that we allow ourselves to experience santosa, or contentment, before trying to move deeper into a yoga pose: count three breaths, enjoy where you are in the present and then move and make any adjustments on the fourth breath. It takes away the urge to go directly to the edge only to hang out with the discomfort of your efforts or anxiously await the next pose. Instead, you have a chance to appreciate each step along the way.

With enough practice, it will translate as well to life off the mat. The hooks will become more visible, even when disguised by bait, and there would be no need to avoid temptation. Until then, we practice.


~~~~~~~~~
~Read "Don't Bite the Hook" by Pema Chodron in Tricycle Magazine.
~Watch Flip Wilson tell a short story about Geraldine and her preacher husband. You Tube, 2:45.

 
Image: Shumata on Flickr