The Timeless Spirit of a Majestic Sequoia

It's no wonder that the botanical name of this magnificent tree is Sequoiadendron giganteum. Anyone who has been in the presence of one of these trees immediately gets the "giganteum" part.

My first order of business when writing this post was to get straight in my head the difference between a Sequoia and a Redwood. I discovered that they are from the same botanical family (Cupressaceae), but differ in terms of size, habitat and reproductive features. For anyone interested, here's a link to a more detailed explanation.

There are Sequoia forests in many parts of the world, but if you happen to be traveling

For scale, here's a photo of me and my 6 foot tall honey pictured in 2019 standing in front of this awesome tree

through the state of California, USA, a visit to Sequoia National Park is where you'll find some of the most impressive of these majestic beauties. I had a memorable encounter with the grandpa of them all after following the path leading to the famous General Sherman tree, considered to be the largest known living single-stem tree on earth. He stands just under 275 feet tall with a ground circumference of a whopping 102 feet!

This imposing patriarch had quite an impact on me, and when I became interested in working with the spiritual essence of plants and trees, I eventually did a meditation intending to connect to the spirit of this particular tree. I visualized myself holding out my arms posed in awe before the "General," humbly addressing him saying "you have been here for a very long time." I wasn't expecting a response, but it came immediately as I heard the words "so have you!" Well, my first thought was "okay wise guy, so I'm no spring chicken either." But later on, I realized that we were actually having a "namaste"moment.

For anyone new to the term, it roughly translates from Sanskrit as "The divine in me honors and salutes the divine in you."

So it became more like two old souls recognizing each other as ageless, eternal beings.

I took it as such and we've been friends and allies ever since.

And while we're on the subject of trees, sequoia or otherwise, I also came across a unique way to recognize or commemorate friends and loved ones by having a tree planted in their name. This comes with the added benefits of honoring the plant kingdom and making a small but far-sighted effort to help protect the environment.

To quote The Living Tribute website, having such a tree planted is:

"The perfect gift to celebrate any special occasion

Native tree seedlings will be planted in your honoree’s name to restore treasured national forests. Multiple trees can be dedicated—in honor, in memory or for celebration and recognition"

(note: I have no affiliation with them, and I know the validity of such organizations has been questioned. I recently found it reassuring to learn about their new program that involves including tracking data in the way of GPS coordinates and restoration site photos)

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As always, thanks for letting me share my thoughts and journey with you. I welcome your input, so if you want to submit a comment, scroll down to the bottom of this post.

You can also contact me via email at: my.plant.allies@gmail.com

For now, here's wishing you wellness, wisdom and bloomin' vibes!

I just love this seasonal tree wisdom message (posted on Facebook) for so many reasons