SLO Coast Christmas Trees

by Michele Oksen

If you can take your eyes off Mar Pacificum for a moment and look at the ridgeline of the Santa Lucia Mountains you'll see the silhouettes of Coulter pine trees. They tickle the clouds as they reach for the sun. Now, being the holiday season, if you scrutinize the Coulter pine as a potential tree to decorate you may think it resembles something Charlie Brown might drag home. The spacing of its branches creates windows of sky and offers handholds and steps something like a spiral staircase. It's not a full tree like trees you're likely to find on a lot, consequently there really aren't many places for hanging ornaments. Still, it is the perfect Christmas tree.

So, why do I view this tree as appropriate for Christmas? The perfection, as I see it, is not in its promise to deck our halls, but rather in its ability to spruce up our lives with an example of what it might look like to ascend a spiral staircase of consciousness.

If you're wondering how something in nature can lead the way - just imagine yourself climbing this towering tree with gooey sparkling pitch sliding down the straight trunk, pitch that drips onto the strong branches and cones. Cones that, by the way, are the worlds heaviest. Anyway, your goal is to ascend this tree in an effort to touch the heavens. To accomplish this you must get past the challenges, annoyances, and difficulties. Now, reach for a handhold and grasp the rough and gummy surface of a branch above you. Step up onto a branch. As you scale the tree you wind around the deeply rooted trunk. Remember to breathe in the refreshing sensations. Marvel at the beauty that surrounds you. The higher you go the more enhanced your view.

As you pull yourself higher you remind yourself not to fall. Your grip tightens. You hug the tree. Your hands and clothes are covered with bothersome pitch and bark. The more you try to wipe it off, the more bark sticks between your fingers. Not only that, there are huge cones above. They hang from threads and threaten to thump you. Your uneasiness intensifies. You feel fear and aggravation. However, as you start to lose your patience and feel sorry for yourself, your tantrum loosens your grip. You slip and are at risk of a painful fall.  

Soon, you grasp the fact that self-pity, anger, blame, and the like only serve to distract you from the focus that is required to advance. You see that, as with any sticky situation in life, the choices are clear. You can fight the situation and fall. You can let go and plummet. You can cling to the current level you occupy. Or, you can decide to enjoy the scenery as you continue your precarious ascent.  

Naturally, to move upward in the face of adversity requires strength. It's not easy to advance as you hold on for dear life while you dodge falling cones. But when your earth experience gets tough and the wind blows your boughs, it can serve as an opportunity for you to hang in there and choose faith as you spiral up your tree fraught with perils. At your core you know the new perspectives are worth the climb.

With gratitude for your support of my Coastland Contemplations column, I wish you joy in your daily undertakings, peace in your heart, well-being in your soul.

Merry Christmas from partway up a Coulter pine in the mountains.