The Pine Tree and the Infinite Heart
Dear Members of The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara Community,
On Saturday or on Sunday morning a pine tree on campus fell. According to the tree-trimmer, it was a Torrey Pine, one of the few established Torreys in our area, and thus the world. Native to San Diego and Santa Rosa Island, the Torrey is an extremely rare pine, considered by some to be the rarest pine in the world; there is concern in fact that the Torrey is cusping on extinction. Based on its rings this particular tree was around 75 years old. For a while the tree-trimmer was unsure about it: he said the bark of the fallen tree was redder than typical Torreys; and that the tree perhaps was a Torrey/Red Pine hybrid. Regardless, the trimmer left us much of the body of the tree in the form of logs, rounds, and chips. He even made us a simple chair. A few large sections of the trunk were hauled away by a local woodworker who plans to mill the remaining timber.
While we were talking to the tree-trimmer, he noticed a blue stick-it note on the tree's base. He picked it off and read the note. R-I-P, he said. Confused, he showed us the note. We looked at the piece of paper: it was a child's writing. Then, before we could say anything, the trimmer chuckled with a touched surprise. I get it now. I get it. Rest in peace.
Before seeing that note, we'd not felt into the loss of this particular creature. Nor had the trimmer. But now we felt it. Apparently, the children had not seen the fallen tree as a task to knock off the to-do list, a job for the morning. Rather, they saw it as something dead that deserved a tribute, however small. And their tribute was clarifying and humbling. Immediately we were reminded of the importance of this work -- this work of tending these beautiful bighearted children (who so often, paradoxically, tend us).
To tend these beautiful and bighearted children (who also tend us), we write to remind you of “Flourishing at 40,” our Annual Giving Campaign, which draws to a close Thursday, February 15th. At present, we've raised $153,000, which is $53,000 more than our goal. We still, however, have not reached 100% participation. Let us reach that goal. If you haven’t donated yet, now is your chance. Remember: no donation is too small. (And thank you to those who've already given!)
Annual Giving Fund — The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara
With gratitude for you, the children, and for the pine that shaded many of the children while they ate their lunches (and provided much joy for them while they climbed its branches),
The Admin Team
PS The thought of the day is from Henry David Thoreau:
"I do not talk to any intellect in nature but am presuming an infinite heart somewhere."
PPS The poem of the day is by Ms. Angela, our Rosemary Kindergarten teacher:
The Torrey Pine
the Torrey Pine has fallen
regent who watched over our land
stood witness to the changes of children
recipient of joy as it was touched by
hands and feet of daring climbers
provider of shade and quiet stately wisdom
the Torrey heard and held secrets
stood with open arms to welcome the child
who nursed hurt feelings and climbed
to its height
it was a shock to see the skyline changed
the old protector no longer there
the flick and rustle of needles gone
and which will no longer sing
yet the old Torrey left behind gifts
stumps to become playground borders
piles of mulch that will renew
our packed-down soil
and the smell of pine
still lingers in the air
its scent lifting
in praise
of a life well lived