“Surrender to green” | The Press

Every spring I remember a piece of advice given to me by an old doctor: “You should look at the trees more often. »

I was barely out of adolescence, he found me anxious and stuck in my head. I actually was. What soothed him was taking a moment to stare at the leaves: their movement, their shape, their color.

It’s beautiful, a leaf. It’s calming, a tree. I should try, he said.

It took me a good decade to implement his advice.

I was shooting a documentary series when I met Bernadette Rey, a pioneer in shinrin-yoku, in Quebec. This Japanese practice – also known as “forest bathing” – is known for its benefits against stress and anxiety.

In short, we walk in the forest to enjoy the relaxing effect of phytoncides, molecules emitted by vegetation (especially pine, maple and oak). We take the opportunity to observe nature, listen to the birds, touch the bark or embrace the jobs that capture our attention.

We take our time and the forest as our therapist.

Since my meeting with Bernadette Rey, I have loved walking the trails of Mount Royal at a ridiculously slow pace, without headphones or lenses, fully immersed in the environment I am surveying.

I finally understand the value of a moment devoted to observation rather than reflection.

Do you remember as a child when you used to spend an entire recess tapping a branch in a puddle? A forest bath, in my case, it may look like this. I let my senses guide me and I remember that deep down, I am not much in the grand scheme of the world.

There is a poem by Chantal Ringuet that speaks to me a lot, for this purpose. It can be found in his recent collection forest in room (Éditions du Noroît), between magnificent photographs taken by Marc-André Foisy…

on the north side
of the mountain
steep paths
welcome your shoes
stained with mud
thistles scratch your calves
suddenly the day
throw confetti
feathery achenes
native willows
you witness the miracle
of a new dispersion

This year, in Montreal, the sheets came out at the same time as terrible news.

The green timidly showed up the day we learned that the Supreme Court of the United States intended to attack the right to abortion.

Jonathan Van Ness, who hosts the podcast Getting Curious and actively advocates for the rights of marginalized communities, posted the following message on Instagram: “We are angry as fuck. If you need a break from learning more about trees and then getting back to fighting this conservative Court and the elected officials who established it, then this is for you. » [Traduction libre]

The this in question was a podcast episode about trees.

It made me smile. It’s true that when frustration rises, there’s nothing to soothe me momentarily like a forest… (Even if we agree that if I lived in the woods, I would still be very angry at any person wanting to manage the reproductive system of another.)

In this episode of the podcast Getting Curious, Jonathan Van Ness talks with Professor Beronda Montgomery. The author of the essay Lessons from Plants answers questions such as: what is a leaf? How do plants survive ice storms? And who are the cedars for?

It is very instructive.

Then, towards the end of the discussion, Beronda Montgomery reflects on the notion of trauma.

She explains that when a tree loses a large branch, it responds in two stages. First, it generates an antiseptic substance to prevent bacterial infections. Then, it creates a thin layer of cells on the wound which will result in a bead, also called a callus. No branches will grow on this scarred area, but the tree will find other ways to continue growing.

For the researcher, there are two lessons to be learned here.

First, we have to recognize a trauma in order to grow. According to her, humans do not like to think much about the consequences of trauma. Between scratching the bobo and quickly moving on to something else, he prefers the second option. However, like the tree, it must take the time to heal its wounds in order to grow.

Then, according to the author, the bruised human often wants to move forward, even if it means continuing to move forward on the path that has seen him suffer… One of the legitimate responses to trauma is, however, to turn one’s back on the situation or the person who hurt us. You can find a whole new path, like the tree that grows its branches away from its scar.

For her, trees can not only soothe us, but also teach us to live differently. Better.

In coherence with our environment, our loved ones and our wounds.

Despite everything that’s wrong with our world and the bundle of sores I’m carrying, I have the romantic forest these days.

It’s because of Chantal Ringuet.

Since I read his collection, one of his poems comes to mind when I marvel at the leaves that take up more and more space.

I copy it here, in case it would be good for you too…

and if loving was just that
cum then die
in an ocean of leaves
surrender to green

Surrender to green. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?