Poplar trees are wonderful trees. They offer qualities that instruct us to look beyond beauty, to look inward and downward to discover greater meaning. Did you ever think that a tree could tell a story? Poplar trees do; they tell a story of what it takes to be a thriving and supportive community.
Have you ever crossed or seen a single aspen tree, alone and with no others nearby? If you are familiar with poplars, you know that this rarely happens.
By their nature, poplars are not a solitary tree. Its roots extend below the surface of the earth and facilitate growth in others to form a group. Poplar trees grow as a community; they are linked by their roots and share nutrients and resources to support each other. The community is animated through a solidly linked base.
If you look at the structure of the Aspen root, you will notice that they are survivors. Aspen roots can lie dormant for years. At the right time, they come to life and are regenerated as a community. Poplar trees have strength and endurance, unseen by many.
Aspen groves thrive on diversity. They are strongest when there is a mix of young and old. The diverse mix protects against disease and natural disasters, providing greater assurance that the community survives during the most difficult times.
Poplar trees have restorative qualities that reach beyond their attached community to the natural world around them. The animals feed in the winter months on the trunk of an aspen tree and pain can be relieved through its medicinal value, similar to aspirin. Even humans can protect themselves from the sun or alleviate a cut or burn by rubbing the bark of an aspen tree on their skin.
The poplars tell us an important story, if we choose to listen. They share with us lessons of connection, survival and outreach to serve as a guide for our communities.
What story do our communities tell?
Today’s world emerges a new humanity from being electronically connected. There are many benefits to be gained from these new roots by bringing people together. Connections via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are easily multiplied with short bursts of challenging, reassuring, and even inspiring words written and distributed through the networked maze. New people outside of our typical period are engaged offering new knowledge through tenuous relationships.
While the electronic community may be thriving, the face-to-face community is weakening. Our communities tend to be lonelier and less established.
With all the popularity centered on social media and its limitless reach across the internet, how much do we know about our neighbor a few doors down? Do we even know their names? How do we support each other within our neighborhood block?
Our relationships with the community have become superficial or non-existent, and only impersonal facts about our neighbors are known. It is a “recognized” relationship. There is little depth to our knowledge about them. His joys and concerns remain within his four walls or are expressed through electronic relationships that extend beyond his immediate surroundings.
Just as Aspen tree communities can lie dormant below the surface for many years and then come alive at the right time, are we ready to engage with the people in our neighborhood and activate our communities?
What can we learn from an Aspen community?
Poplar trees offer strong guidance on how to build personal relationships and build a strong community. Through connection, survival, and outreach, our communities can be brought back to life with supportive relationships, inciting our society to be best, do more.
Connectivity. Aspen trees intertwine below the surface, creating a foundation for growth and life. Connected roots are what sustain beautiful life on the surface.
Within our cities and neighborhoods, our connections must be strengthened. We follow the movements of everyday life and time is quickly slipping away from us. Instead of building relationships within a 5 mile radius, we log in and connect with people in other states and countries. As a result, our base weakens; neighborhoods become lonely places. This is in stark contrast to our ancestors who created rich and vibrant communities driven by daily social interaction with their neighbors.
A vibrant neighborhood should emulate the beauty of an Aspen grove. Healthy communities have healthy relationships. They should be like entering Health, where “everyone knows your name”.
Survival. Just as a diverse mix of Aspen trees withstands the ups and downs of existence; our communities must be built in the same way. Diversity not only generates strength but also understanding.
Often we move to make sure our children are in schools of people similar to us, or we want to find the neighborhood that is all the right ages for our children to play. Some aspects of this are good, but sometimes these goals can go too far and end up doing more harm than good.
We need to accept the differences in our communities. Spending time with the elderly can provide information about our own lives, foster a sense of generational continuity, and provide warmth in our interactions. Spending time with the younger generation will reintroduce us into vigor and inspire us to step out of our comfort zones.
Beat. Another important element for our communities is outreach. This can be accomplished by helping others who may have been hit hard by current economic waves or weather disasters or who simply need a listening ear to listen and provide comfort. Offering a helping hand to other communities is essential to think beyond our immediate walls and participate in our community as a whole.
A strong community extends beyond its borders and offers assistance and sustenance to other communities to overcome difficult times. Essentially, it is about giving what we can, spreading healing balm in wounded communities or providing protection to those that may be threatened.
Disclosure facilitates the spirit of leading a meaningful life. Actions that strengthen and energize others will long be remembered as what really made a difference.
Putting an example. People must live to represent the best that communities can be. Instead of the Aspen trees leading by example, we should. The beauty of this kind of human community will outshine what a grove of aspens can produce.
Deeper and supportive relationships within our neighborhoods will allow us to lead richer lives and more easily extend our reach to others a mile down the road or to the next state or country. The common thread will be a well-founded root system that connects and supports us. In other words, the strength of our immediate community will allow us to extend our helping hand even further.
The decisions we make about how we connect with our community will drive how our society continues to develop. Will we be more insular or more inclusive? Will we be more self-centered or people-centered? Can we balance our growing interest in social media with an active sense of community and compassion for our close neighbors?
So the next time you see a neighbor, stop, talk, and listen. Go beyond the superficial questions. Ask them what is happening in their work, their family, their life. Make a connection. Develop the roots.
Just as an Aspen tree community can regenerate after being dormant for many years, with enough firm commitment, the roots of our community can rejuvenate, connect, and thrive once again.