If you had some form of religious education as a kid, you no doubt know the story of the Garden of Eden, since it's compelling visuals are a favorite among Bible stories taught to children. In the garden were two trees, the Tree of Knowledge, and the Tree of Life. When I had the pleasure of working with an aging rescue dog awhile back, he conveyed an image of the frustration of barking up the wrong tree (he had apparently been trying to rid his human friend’s yard of squirrels for some time and was growing weary of the battle!). The Tree of Knowledge offers us the ability to see all, to being in charge of our own destiny, to be creators. However, the life it offers is also limited, and it comes with the experience of all that is life’s opposite - death, sadness, pain, and limitations. Science tells us nature abhors a vacuum, and on this tree, as we create good and wonderful things in our life, we also create a vacuum into which the shadow side of this tree must come. What that old dog had to share about his frustrations with the wily squirrels was a good reminder about a larger life lesson – be careful which tree you’re attending to.
When a squirrel disappears up a tree, or a mouse into a hole, our animals do what logic demands. They sit and wait with infinite patience at the spot where their quarry was last seen. How often do we also wait and wait, or push and push, or try and try, for something that we want desperately, even when all signs point to its already having left the building? I know I’ve spent my share of hours waiting for Elvis to reappear. Unbeknownst to us, our quarry may have slipped out the back while we stewed out front. In this scenario, it’s all about being guided by logic – “I think and see, therefore, this must be so”. We do not have the perspective to see beyond the spot where our last known encounter with our subject existed.
The Tree of Life, however, is an entirely different animal. When we are barking at this Tree, we don’t have to care that reality seems to suggest that our goal has disappeared, we will always be guided to the right place to be at the right time so that we can see where it went, or if perhaps there is another, better quarry for us. On this tree, there is no separation from that which we desire, and no limit to our ability to see it. It’s like having a direct phone line to the Creator, who is giving you step by step instructions to lead you to your goal “ok, move to the second oak on your left and wait at the north side, the squirrel is coming down the trunk in 2 minutes”.
What this old dog was telling me is that even my greatest efforts are blind. The illusion is that I know it all – I know exactly what I want and how to get it- but the reality is that my vision is limited to what I can see directly in front of me. The miracles given to us at this time of year are many – the rebirth of the planet in spring, the Israelites’ escape from both slavery in Egypt and the Angel of Death through Passover, Christ’s death and resurrection freeing us from our prison of self-slavery. We are shown that even what appears to be final - and death is the ultimate final for most of us - is only an illusion when we allow the Creator to assist us. And if we can accept that something that big and scary could be only an illusion, then surely we might be able to get some help finding that darn squirrel…
