Think Like a Tree

by Karen I. Shragg

Soak up the sun
Affirm life's magic
Be graceful in the wind
Stand tall after a storm
Feel refreshed after it rains
Grow strong without notice
Be prepared for each season
Provide shelter to strangers
Hang tough through a cold spell
Emerge renewed at the first signs of spring
Stay deeply rooted while reaching for the sky
Be still long enough to
hear your own leaves rustling.

Dr. Karen I. Shragg is the manager/naturalist of Wood Lake Nature Center in the City of Richfield, Minnesota. She is an author of several books including the children's book, "A Solstice Tree for Jenny", and co-author of "Nature's Yucky". She co-edited "Tree Stories, A Collection of Extraordinary Encounters with Warren Jacobs where this poem, Think Like a Tree was first published. Karen writes a column called Radical Rant for the Buffalo Bull, the NAI regional newsletter for naturalists.

The above poem is excerpted with permission from
Tree Stories: a Collection of Extraordinary Encounters
ed. by Warren Jacobs and Karen I. Shragg
Sunshine Press Publications
Hygeine, CO (2002)
www.sunshinepress.com