Enjoy the Paintings, Letters to self, Motivation and Inspiration, Road to Nara Aid : Helping the Heros
Published on 08/09/2022
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NATURE and What We Humans Can Learn From the Inner Life Of Trees?

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Trees do more than sustain us.

They are our family. Its easy to forget how inseparable we are from the wider realm of nature but in the grand scheme of things our very nature binds us to everything else. Its this dissociation that causes us to lose touch with our very roots.

Reconnecting with our environment, and therefore ourselves must be the foundation of all our work.

“You and the tree in your backyard come from a common ancestor. A billion and a half years ago, the two of you parted ways.

But even now after an immense journey in separate directions that tree and you still share a quarter of your genes.


I recently came across the works of Richard Powers, an American Novelist who instantly lured me as soon as I peeked into his vision of the world. For the longest time ever since I learnt about the Redwoods I have yearned to be amongst them. And one such walk amongst the Redwoods changed Richard’s life from a computer science and a music writer to writing about the old growth forests and why they were being cut down? Why humans are disconnected today with the natural world?

The Overstory, which was Richard’s twelfth novel, won him a Pulitzer prize for fiction. He said in an interview given to a news channel that Before writing “The Overstory,” he stuck to a fairly rigorous routine of writing anything in between 3 to 12 hours for almost a third of a century.

Talking about his walk on that extraordinary day and its background Richard says, “I was teaching at Stanford, in the heart of Silicon Valley. I lived within a couple of miles from the headquarters of Google, Apple, Intel, HP, Facebook, Netflix, and dozens of other companies that had created the present and were busy creating the future. When I needed to get away from that future, I would head up into the Santa Cruz mountains above the valley, where I could reconnect to the long past by hiking under the second-growth redwoods. One day I came across an escapee, a redwood that had somehow evaded the loggers when they cut down these forests to build San Francisco and lay the track for the transcontinental railroad that joined California to the East. This single monster tree was as wide as a house, as tall as a football pitch was long, and almost as old as Jesus. It struck me that Silicon Valley had sprung up down there because these gigantic trees had been up here, helpless resources to be sacrificed. The human story of that region had been written in part by these creatures who operated on an entirely different scale of time and space. And it was at this moment I came down from the mountains and I began to read”.

Also read: How Travelling can elevate you to become a better being?


But what brought my attention to this subject was his choice of words while describing his favourite book, “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” by Crockett Johnson. Published two years before he was born. He says, the book was among very first stories I ever read. It gripped me then, and it has never really let me go. The line which also struck me as he said them out loud, “If you want to walk in the moonlight, you might have to draw your own moon. If you can’t find a way back home, you might have to draw your own trail. I sometimes think I became a writer because of this book”.

Even though I haven’t read any of his books yet but researching and reading enough on the internet gave me more than an insight of how he has lived with and for the nature and that was what he advised to the fellow writers when asked;

“I’ve profited endlessly from not screwing down my plans and outlines too tightly but by leaving myself open to serendipity and happy accident. Be present, practice attention, and the story you are working on will feed on everything in front of you”.



I hope to read this writer someday whom I found just by chance, even though nature tells us nothing is by chance, everything is connected. Like the tree stump and the human fingerprint.


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Thank you.

If today is the first time you have arrived on The Road to Nara, you are heartily welcome ~ Namaste

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I will take this opportunity to introduce you to About me and importantly;

As a co-traveller, my Ten Learnings from several years on the road, before you coarse on your own Road to Nara.

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Also, You will be happy to know about My Little School Project. If you wish to come over for a visit someday that you must, you will be heartily welcomed here

If you would like to contribute to my travels, you can please do so here

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If you have anything to share, or feel like saying a hello, feel free to write to me at nara@road-to-nara.com

To visit other long-term photographic works, please visit here.

To follow my walks through the rural Indian Subcontinent, find me at 
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Hi, I am Narayan Kaudinya. And i welcome you on this journey, the Road to Nara ! I am an Ethnographer and a practicing Indologist. I did my masters in History and further learnt Sanskrit, Yoga and Nerve-therapy. At 24, pushing most academic sounding, office sitting works away, i felt compelled to know and understand the world and my country, Bharat/India. I travelled, and as it happened i took up teaching in Kashmir and further up in the remote villages of Baltistan in the foothills of Karakoram Ranges. For around three years and many states later there came a time when i felt that it was only while teaching i learnt how to laugh, to see, feel, breathe, love and cry -with children, and mostly resource-less parents in the harshest-freezing border conditions. I write, and work as a documentary photographer and Filmmaker, with numerous published, exhibited and some awarded stories. In my travels and life i have let nature lead me, the divine mother, and as a Yogin, my resolve here is to share my experiences and thoughts as honestly, and through them to blossom in everyone the power and possibility in pursuing your breath, that you seek your true nature with courage and curiosity. Here, on this road i will share my spirit, my love for nature, the elements of life that are us. And in doing so, i'll be happy to see you along.

87 Comments

  1. jim- says

    Love the illustration. It’s hard to make the connection as trees because we are mobile. Imagine if we were all rooted to the ground? Also, you know if you strip away all the excess, the human nervous system resembles a tree too.
    Great post!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • Narayan Kaudinya says

      Dear Jim, trees have attained tree hood because they know they can get everything what our minds and heart seek outwards. We grow Outwards In and they inwards out. Lovely evocative comment Jim. Thanks so much for writing.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  2. Diti Sen says

    Having grown up in an era when there were plentiful trees and natural vistas, i love trees, all sorts. Each has a story to tell if only we are ready to listen. The photo of the finger print and the slice of a tree trunk was wonderful. Never thought of the similarity between the two before.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    • Narayan Kaudinya says

      Diti, yes I could sense that in your writings that are mostly surrounded by the environment around you. And anyways West Bengal is blessed with nature. Thanks for writing Diti. Always a pleasure.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • Diti Sen says

        Thanks Narayan. My post on trees ‘Wise Owls and Wishing Trees’, is similar in thought and feeling so it was good to read yours and also about Richard Powers and his book. Sounds very interesting, will read it.

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        • Narayan Kaudinya says

          Yes it was and one the posts out of a few since last one week or two that triggered me to put some things forth which were moving within me.

          Richard seems an absolutely important author to read certainly Diti.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  3. Arun Singha says

    Gone through your post.
    Came to know about the science behind life. Life means including Plant kingdom and Animal Kingdom (man is also social animal)
    Biocentrism is a new topic which also says something same as you have written.
    I now find NON-DUALITY here.
    So it is ultimately unique expression of ONE Being. From whom this world comes out and then have seperate nature and identity.
    However all these again merge in to same Being .
    Thank you so much for bringing this post which beats great knowledge.
    Take care 😊
    Regards 🙏

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  4. gary j says

    hey bro! trees are above and below, like lightning, like synapse in our mind, always talking. minerals, gravity, water, fire they are made of the strongest and most artistic of creation and birds live in them. they make instruments that help poetry to break hearts or embolden the weak. i am a tree man bro, one day mushrooms will dance in my chemical being. good to see you. love always from sis xo

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • Narayan Kaudinya says

      Gary Sis. I wish one day we travel together. Even if i have to come to your land. Only that would mean I am blessed. Love and prayers for your health and your beings around. I am wholly completely a tree man too. So much gratitude. Your Bro.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  6. gabychops says

    The title of Narayan’s today post immediately grabbed my attention because I love trees passionately and planted many in my garden. The words at the end of the post about everything being connected have a profound meaning. Coming from the same ancestral source we are, indeed, connected with the world around us.

    His ingenious illustrations comparing the biometrics of our finger’s skin with the inner picture of trees are most important as they evoke an understanding of our relationship with trees, which he wonderfully and rightly describes as our family.
    As usual, Narayan’s writing compels us, his readers, to learn more, and that is his greatest legacy as a talented writer.

    He mentioned the writers whose books were influenced by nature and trees, and I would like to add the writer, Jean Giono whose famous book ” The Man Who Planted Trees” had a profound influence on my love for trees. And the message ” Who plants
    trees, plants happiness” became my mantra.

    Narayan’s vision of the importance of being part of nature and turning the world
    around us into a green oasis by planting trees is truly a visionary one.
    We must thank him for the inspiration his words awakened in us.
    Thank you, Narayan, for this masterpiece of talented writing.

    Joanna

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Narayan Kaudinya says

      Thanks for such a heart filled and filled with love comment dear Joanna. Many visions came as i read about this man and his book of how you might think and carry his thoughts. May be you dont have to read him as yourself are a tree of gratitude and kindness. Love to you.

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  7. Lia says

    Many of us understand the affinity with trees from personal experience. Some authors are very good at relating to this affinity and sharing it with many. Our kids loved the book The Purple Crayon… was a gift from a relative who has many successful artistic connections (likely, in other words, they too understand the concepts in this wonderfully minimalist children’s book and employ them as well). The fingerprint and the tree photo were stunning to see. Beautifully photographed, presented and shared!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. C.A. Post says

    Another author with a love of trees is Dr. Matthew Sleeth, MD. He wrote “Reforesting Faith” and traces the life of trees through the Bible, noting some similarities between the behemoths of Genesis and Revelation, The Tree of Life. Cool lessons.

    ❤️& 🙏, c.a.

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  10. Ana Daksina says

    I’m blessed to live near some of the last remaining redwoods in our world, and they’re just as magical as any description can make them. The way the light streams through them is unique in my experience.

    Recently our sciences have begun to understand that trees have families and communities themselves, and ways to warn one another of danger, give support in time of trouble and even assist in bolstering chemical defenses on the front lines of insect invasion. They are indeed our brothers.

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    • Narayan Kaudinya says

      Lovely Rosa, you read it and I am glad your affirmation of it helps me to get it and read it myself. Sometimes I feel you really miss Guyana.

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  12. Yetismith says

    In becoming disconnected from Nature, mankind lost its soul though I believe there are some who are able to re-connect. Those are the people we need to lead us out of the darkness. Bless you Nara.

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    • Narayan Kaudinya says

      Caro, you are one of those leaders when I see your posts, your beautiful beings that surround you, that you love and like to photograph them for us. So thank YOU.

      Like

      Reply
  13. Ashley says

    I read The Overstory a couple of years ago! It is a brilliant book. Narayan, you’ve reminded me that I must read it again! 🙏

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  18. Michele Lee says

    A wonderful post! 🌳 I was not familiar with Richard Powers. Thank you. Harold and the Purple Crayon is a special book.

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    Reply
  21. Lakshmi Bhat says

    Fascinating. I have read The Overstory. It is all about trees and gives us great insights into their world which is also our world. Thank you.

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  22. aruna3 says

    WOW.Really,humans and trees are related each other.marvellous.sigh of tree branches and human fingerprints are sane.it is genetic relation.but I feel so sad when somebody cut down the trees for his own purpose.by doing this,he spoil his own life.very well written,dear!!❣️🙏❣️

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    Reply
    • Narayan Kaudinya says

      Yes Aruna, absolutely my thoughts. And well better than feeling sad, i guess lets start planting trees. And we may choose our own hidden secret places like a highway side. Thanks for your kind comment Aruna.

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      Reply
  24. KK says

    This was an interesting read, Narayan ji. The claim of a common ancestry of trees and humans has some substance as both are living beings and both have their genus and species as defined by their binomial names. Moreover, both annual growth rings of trees and ridges and lines of fingers are unique. I don’t know if botanists can arrive at the age of tree by counting number of rings, zoologists may also devise one day a way to ascertain age and other characteristics by studying ridges and lines of fingers. It’s an interesting topic, and as one goes deep, more interesting it becomes. Thank you for taking up this interesting issue for your post.

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    • Narayan Kaudinya says

      Thank you for your wise assessment Kaushal Ji. Trees so quiet, offer all they can till their last left overs; tell us a lot when saints ask us to be quiet too. I have heard this theory of us coming out of cell mutation against the world thinking of a big bang.

      Anyways, i also agree one day and that doesnt seem too far a day, when we will start getting to know the last remaining secrets of the nature world.

      Thanks so much again Kaushal Ji.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  25. Cindy Georgakas says

    I love this comparison of our finger and the tree connection! Soo powerful and true. The redwoods sustain me thoroughly as w you know when I wrote Be The Rewood! Lovely post Nara! 💖

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  26. Alison and Don says

    I can’t imagine my life without trees and nature. I am so very grateful I still have this connection. A beautiful post Narayan. The world’s problems would be solved by reconnecting with nature I think.
    Alison

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  27. Crystal Byers says

    Dear Narayan, Your writing makes me think about reconnecting with the environment and myself. I try. I’m a work in progress. Thanks also for the part about Richard Powers, his Pulitzer, writing schedule, and favorite book. As always, I feel like I’m supposed to be here. Wishing you well.

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  30. Pingback: NATURE and What We Humans Can Learn From the Inner Life Of Trees? — ROAD TO NARA – “Summer is the season of inferior sledding” – Inuit proverb (Women's Wilderness Legend)

  31. Ambica Gulati says

    I am also inspired to read about this author now. Loved the way nature keeps changing our course in life. And takes us closer and closer to our inner being.

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    • Narayan Kaudinya says

      Do read dear Ambica. Only today i was hearing this author on a Podcast on his upcoming book. And what I felt through his voice was the depth he has touched while living and writing from a forest.

      Thank you for the kind words.

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      Reply
  33. anntonettejacksom4490 says

    I am an author on a poetry book about nature. This article spoke to me.
    I have a book out called “Trees & Truths” that I put out on Amazon in 2021.
    We and Trees are very much alike and I believe that Trees are living things.

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