Changing Skylines
Fascinated I watch the tree surgeon very carefully and systematically fell a group of tall sycamore trees. First the lower branches are removed leaving footholds to the upper canopy. Standing ready to feed branches into the chipper I am bewildered as more and more greenery falls to the ground. We are lucky as it is one of those brilliant blue days. Hot, sunny with not a cloud in the sky.
From my ground job as chipper-woman I catch glimpses of the work up high. I am surprised as what I thought quite destructive has a certain beauty. I feel like I am watching art or sculpture in motion. More branches drop. Like pieces of a puzzle, a tall Scots Pine and huge Beech tree emerge framed by dazzling blue, giving a feeling of space and expansion.
As the skyline changes, the distance moves forward. Flooding light into the shadows I am bathed in brilliance, suddenly more aware of what is no longer hidden.
I am amazed.
I am sure all of us have changed skylines at one time or another. On a deeper level we are aware of things that need to go or have out-lived. Perhaps hem us in or block the light, keeping us from seeing what is hidden.
‘Changing Skylines’ can take any form. Work situations, which crowd you or leave you in shadow, relationships or friendships that could do with a bit of pruning or re-assessing or the need or want to totally let go of the old and begin afresh. Even changing dress size involves the same decision to let go of what no longer serves.
Whenever we decide to create change we are setting into motion a series of events, which in its own way is very much like a dance, a living moving sculpture. Some decisions are simple. You just know what to do, what needs felling. You are ready for the space it offers to replant. Others we agonized as uncertainty wields the cut of the ‘change’ saw. Perhaps fearing the inevitability that by removing a branch there is no going back.
The thing is that with each cut a new horizon emerges and with it light. As puzzle pieces fall visibility improves making it easier to know the next step. And although I could not have pieced the tree back together I could have at any given point made another decision, setting off a new series of events.
The one certain thing about change is that it is constant. When we actively work to create change we have the opportunity to shape shift our skylines and by doing we create new space to grow. So, if you aren’t sure about what to take away or cut out start with a very light trim. Then see how the landscape evolves. There is no need to go as far as I did that sunny afternoon, as a single branch removed will bring in its place a warming ray of sunshine.
‘Changing Skylines’ opens choice, expansion and further vision. As we let go of what no longer serves us we open to new possibility.
I thank those trees for serving me well. For their beauty and support. I will replant and honor that space and in the cold winter months their echo of life will heat my home.