Wednesday, May 8, 2013

With Age Comes Wisdom

words of wisdomI often think back during situations of my lifetime to words of wisdom that were spoke to me.  I will admit that I do it much more often now that I have aged somewhat myself then I did when I was of a younger age.  I think that could be true for many of us.  At a young age we tend to turn our ears away from words spoken to us as a means to help guide us a bit more straight in life.  But then when one is young we are ready to conquer the world and we wish to do it in our own manner, learning our own lessons… right or wrong.  It is human nature I guess.
 
Yet through time we store those morsels of truth and guidance back in a corner of our minds.  As time progresses we are more apt to rummage through the old boxes and take them out again.  Many times we will even mount them and admire and live by them.  After of course we have learned from them.
 
It is usually the aged that silently sit back and watch the young do their thing.  A smile crosses over their face when no one is looking as they think back to a time they themselves were the same.  Some are graced with the ability to translate their message so that it may be listened to and possibly even acted upon.  Yet many know better than to speak up and offer a piece of their wisdom learned through the years. It is usually not until such relics have passed on that we realize the wonderful treasures that were hidden in their words.  Sadly too often it is not until then that we realize the worth of what they gave us and the loss of what we did not take.
 
yew tree at graveyardIt is believed that the Yew may very well be the oldest living tree.  Much of this belief is attributed to the manner in which it grows.  It can grow to great size.  Eventually through time it will begin to decay and start to hollow out.  Still determined and resilient a  new sprout will come forth from the soft compost of the decay allowing it to continue its existence. 
 
It is not just in this manner that it continues it life span.  Its branches also re root  and eventually will grow into trunks of new trees.  Because of this small new trees can be found around the area of the yew. If transplanted these trees will grow easily into new Yews themselves.  The prolific nature of the Yew can be found in many forms. Its continual manner of rebirthing itself makes it easy to see how it is associated with transformation and regeneration. 
 
phoenixI liken it to the phoenix.  Who through its fiery death will always come forth from the ashes and once again thrive.  Each time being more adept and capable to adapt to its surroundings and circumstances.  The yew allows nothing, save mere destruction, to end its cycle.  In truth even that may not be able to annihilate it.  It has survived for millions of years with evidence pointing it back to the Triassic era.  Translated to something most would understand, that is 200,000,000 years
 
Imagine the wisdom that such a life  could tell.  Living such a span of time and silently watching all that transpired around it.  The changes that came and went.  The secrets that were whispered beneath it as it stood and listened. The wonderful stories it could weave for us. The wonderful lessons it could teach.

4 comments:

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

This is a lovely post. Full of rich information and rememberances. Oma Linda

AkasaWolfSong said...

As I study my ancestry, my geneology, this writing speaks volumes to my spirit Janie. That we all could be like the Yew and regenerate ourselves would be interesting to say the least (albeit I'm not sure I'd want to live that long, lol) but the lesson in Yew to regenerate, observe, listen and as you say be more adept to our surroundings and circumstances certainly will lead us to knowledge come wisdom. Wouldn't it be wonderful if every human could observe silently and then council in wisdom with a soft voice? Peace would come quickly to us I'm sure...
Wonderful thoughts for today, Janie...thank you for sharing! :)
Deep, Peaceful Blessings to You
Sister Soul,
Akasa

Magic Love Crow said...

This is amazing! I never new this about the Yew tree! Thank you for sharing! I found this so interesting!

mxtodis123 said...

In youth, we believe ourselves to be immortal. Somewhere along the line we grow up and take heed of the wisdom that has been passed on to us. Great post.
Mary