QUAKING ASPENS

QUAKING ASPENS, Internet Domain

SPIRIT VOICE

Pneuma is an ancient Greek word for air in motion or breath, wind, spirit and soul.  At Pentecost Jesus’ disciples or followers became apostles or messengers of the good news.  Acts 2 begins with the great sound of a wind from heaven filling the entire house where the disciples were gathered and they received the spirit with visible tongues of fire signifying God’s presence.

 

Some of my fondest and enduring memories of the Colorado Rocky Mountains are the sounds and sights of a stand of Aspen trees shimmering and quaking in a cool, high altitude, gentle breeze.  Quietly sitting near a fresh, snowmelt, mountain stream surrounded by a cloned colony of white bark Aspen trees is one of the most meditative and contemplative experiences of my life.  That feeling alone is worth a trip into an Aspen grove.  They are native to cold regions with cool summers in the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitude areas such as mountains and high plains.  Aspen colonies primarily spread through their extensive root systems derived from a single seedling.  One colony in Utah named Pando is believed to have originated with one male quaking Aspen which has now spread via a massive root system to 100 acres and is estimated to be 80,000 years old.  All of these trees are joined together as one by an unseen force with one original creator, a bond which ensures their survival from devastating forest fires.

But what is the mystery behind these shimmering leaves?  Aspens have a flattened leaf stem that enables the serrated leaves to hang at a right angle which reduces aerodynamic drag on the tree branches in high winds.  Since the Aspen also drops its brilliant gold leaves every autumn, heavy winter snows don’t cause much trouble either.  When a high-country wind makes its presence known to these leaves, the pale summer undersides twinkle in unison as dappled sunlight highlights their movement amongst the stark white trunks.

And then there’s the mesmerizing sound of thousands of shimmering leaves in the wind.  The gentle sound is likened to a gentle spring rain on the roof above your bedroom at daybreak.  It is unlike the sound of any tree in the forest.  Leisure time spent among these quaking high-country Aspens is nourishing food for the soul.  And if we listen with patience and sensitivity, we can hear the eternal spirit voice whisper, “Be still and know that I am God.”