I am back in Norway. Third time this year. If I have an opportunity to go there (this time a conference which I could combine with a small project in Sweden), I will take it. Sometimes I have this idea that my ancestors are Vikings which visited the Low Countries, and that these genes sing every time when I am back in the land of fjords, mountains and coldness. I will leave Norway in some days and my soul is pining already. I promised myself that I will move to Norway after Japan taught me everything what I need to know.
The big pine
I was also invited by my best Norwegian friend to stay in the cabin if his material family. He knows I love trees, and the first morning he proposed for a hike with the dog to the top of a low mountain. Everything was covered by snow. Almost halfway the easy climb, he showed me this big pine tree. She was magnificent.
When he was a child, his grandmother took him there often and this pine would be the destination of a small climb, where she rewarded him with chocolate.
She loved that tree as she used to go there when she was a kid. As a result she made the farmer who owned the land in the area promise he would not cut it down in her lifetime. My friend is happy that the owner is not interested in forestry anymore and that the tree will probably live another 50 years and carry her memory.
The grandmother died two years ago. …
Welcome
The next day I was alone. He had to work. I prepared some hot tea and planned to have a sit spot next to the tree to connect with the land and the tree. I walked alone. I did not hear any sound expect my shoes in the snow.
When I arrived at the big pine, I heard birds singing. Very welcoming. I shared some tea with the tree and sat there for 20 minutes – until my ass froze 😉.
I felt very welcome there.
I imagine the tree told me to come back.
Journaling
To deepen my learning journey as a forest therapy guide I started to draw again. As a child I loved it. One reason of staying in a cabin for 3 days without wifi was to rest and to make time to draw again. I decided to draw the pine tree and my friend (I used a photograph I took of them the day before) reflected about the web of interbeing. The pine tree has many branches. Just like a web. I draw it on the side of a big card I send to my elder friend in Vermont, with who I started my forest therapy guide training.
A mirror memory
Then, suddenly I realised, that a pine was also central in my own connection, or loss of my grandfather, who took me also, when I was a child, on hikes and also gave me rewards. A pine tree killed him. Almost 14 years ago I pointed to the pine tree he would fell, when he asked me which tree looked dead.
In many ways; this close friend, maybe my most favorite man in the world at the moment (as I have no boyfriend who could have claimed that) reminds me so often to my grandfather. Only when I was drawing I realised how even more connected we were… because of pine and beloved grandparent memories.
I made a new version.
Stories from the Wood Wide Web 