The Gift of the Red Bud Tree

Lessons I'm learning from a glorious tree!

The Eastern Red Bud Tree has offered me many, many gifts this spring. She has mentored me in the art of being myself and helped me release my trying and straining to be like someone else. In this acceptance, there really is great peace.

Cercis canadensis, the eastern red bud, is a deciduous, small tree, native to eastern North America from southern Michigan south to central Mexico, west to New Mexico. Species thrive as far west as California and as far north as southern Ontario. It is the state tree of Oklahoma.

It makes me wonder if the Cherokee people, who lived among the red buds in Western North Carolina may have taken a few red buds with them to plant in the far off flat lands of Oklahoma. Maybe that is why the red bud is the state tree there. That long journey, known now as the ‘trail of tears’ became an unwanted and uninvited pilgrimage for them. Perhaps, the red bud tree became a living reminder— a sort of living memorial of a life they once knew; a beauty they once so enjoyed; a sacrament of another way of living. This same species of tree, has now offered me today a sacrament too—a way of living that is a gift to me now— a life of acceptance and a life that is indeed, an outlier—a life I now so enjoy living.

We have a lone, beautiful red bud that is the focus of our home here in the mountains of North Carolina. As I sit on my porch with a mug of hot coffee in my hands, absorbing the morning sun, this glorious tree has become my good friend. I think it is fair to say, she watches me as I watch her. In our watching, I am learning. It is fair to say, I have nothing to offer her. But she has offered me wisdom, joy and beauty—a trinity I so need these days.

I wrote a poem about this unique tree that I want to share with you. The image that you see above was painted by Gwen, my wife. I did not know that this same tree would capture her imagination to paint and reveal the glory of the red bud. Gwen did not know that I would write this poem about the conviction, essence and beauty of the same tree. It’s quite a pairing for you this week of Easter and beyond.

So, here’s my poem to sit with and reflect upon in these important days of Spring, transformation and Easter!

Easter Blessings!

Steve