Breath of a Tree

By Laurie Todd

Breath of a Tree is a very soothing book that teaches what life really is, at the core, away from the addictions and bad habits we have that hide or block out the truth. It uncovers the stillness innate in each of us.

The gift of this book is the ability to live free.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 5, 2010
• ISBN: 9781453584408

Book preview

Contents

Truth

Chapter 1  The Sky’s Touch

Chapter 2  Binoculars Through Heaven

Chapter 3  Steeples and Telescopes

Chapter 4  Silent e

Chapter 5  Pocket of Now

Chapter 6  NIALBO: Nature is a living, breathing organism

Chapter 7  Breath of a Tree

Chapter 8  Glass Chess

Chapter 9  Pain/Snow

Chapter 10  We Create Love

Chapter 11  Stained Glass

Chapter 12  The Silver of the Moon

Chapter 13  Humanity Reigns

Chapter 14  Wrapped Up

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Bibliography

Notes

Truth

The true, sanctified beauty of life and of life’s glory is in the majesty of space, which is where we all are, right now. The music is surrounding us and is alive inside of each one of us, as well.

Life is a live performance

of what is actually true,

of love,

of art,

of which we are a part.

We are a living part of the art of all creation, set up by life to be brilliant, lit by life to always explore.

Our curiosity is our individual pay dirt, our money. Somewhere along the way, however, we have let ourselves become bored, connecting to the stuff and to each other, which is too bad because there is more . . . so much more to this life and to its goodness, of which each one of us is one equal part.

Living with these addictions and bad habits causes us as a society to question ourselves and our role on this planet. Throughout our history, many of us have asked the question of whether or not we humans are good.

We are good.

Of course we are.

This is proven by the fact that we as humans care enough to even ask that question. We would not ask the question of whether or not we are good, if we were bad. Bad would not care. Good cares. Good cares enough to ask the question, and in the asking of it, giving the answer.

We are good.

And each of us deserves to know that whatever may or may not have happened to us in our lives, whatever we have done or have not done, regardless of our habits, obsessions or addictions, or how long we’ve had them, we stay the same . . . always, good.

We are in all ways, good.

We may give some credit for our mistakes to the times in which we live and to our inability to know how to keep society’s problems from penetrating us. Though we must suffer through our personal issues, we are deeply not responsible for not understanding how to prevent their cause.

It is our birthright to know that we are good, as the universe is, which we can so clearly see. If we humans could learn this one thing about ourselves, that we really are good, all of us, everything else that we need to know would gradually fall into place.

We are good. There isn’t anything in the world wrong with us. We are created to enjoy living, to love ourselves and to love others, just as we are. The pleasure of living is why we all fought so hard in the womb to be the sperm to penetrate the chosen egg.

The chance to live is here, now.

It is a beautiful opportunity.

Chapter 1  The Sky’s Touch

Our bedroom window opened out onto the forest behind Belle Meade Plantation, next door to our home. The window belonged to my husband and me.

Our family lived in a small, red brick house, surrounded by a white picket fence that separated us from the forest. We had a nice front porch with rocking chairs, where we often sat with our three young children, eating pizza, chatting with passing neighbors out for evening strolls, and listening to the music that drifted over from the parties and jazz bands that played at the historic plantation’s mansion and carriage house.

The atmosphere was idyllic, with the tone being set by the tenderness of that green, lattice umbrella of a forest draping over our yard and covering the lane that connected us to the plantation’s back entrance.

When I turned out our bedroom light at night, the sky lit forest would peek in and wink at me, sometimes still rolling with the plantation’s rhythmic, late night party’s song. In the mornings, when I awoke, it was still smiling. It seemed like the forest had something to say to me and, given lips, I am certain that it was intelligent enough to have spoken.

I will never forget the care with which those trees gently called to me as our friendship slowly became one, each breathing for the other. I am speaking the truth that those trees brought me. These words are written in their honor. Our shared experience has benefited our children, my husband, and