Bamboo and the tree

I took this picture among many photos in the wonderful bamboo forest of Arashiyama in Japan a couple of years ago, but its one I keep coming back to as it resonates very deeply with me and as my screen saver keeps prompting me to write about what I see.

Bamboo grows really fast, is very strong, can withstand extremes of temperature , the bamboo emerges from the ground at its full diameter and reaches its full height in just 3 to 4 months and is one of the most versatile of plants.

In contrast the tree at the centre of this photo is slow growing and is nurturing a symbiotic plant growing up almost its entire height at odds with almost everything about it, it curves and weaves where the bamboo is straight and tall, its dark and mossy and only grows leaves as it reaches the canopy, I can almost smell its earthy tones and feel a kind of kinship with it as it seems to have weathered many storms and new growth around it and has slowly forged its own path up towards the light.

We each forge our own path, sometimes weathering storms of one sort or another and adapting to our environment in the best way we can, unlike the tree, the twists and turns we make are not always visible on the outside, but they are as much a part of us, as they part of the tree. They make us beautiful in our own way and tell a story which is not plain to see but held within each of us, our own journey towards the light.