There were quite a few angles around in the midst of that ruin, hatred, and anger — including a little flower. I had to do my best to go in that direction of beauty. I saw that life is not only cruelty and confusion and ignorance, but life also has many heartfelt people, wonderful people who are trying to do their best. You don't need to see ten thousands flowers in order to see that so much beauty in life is waving to you and saying hello to you. We try to live in beauty, in that light of goodness.
As strange as it may sound, it was in the fall and winter that I felt closest to my tree. Her spring beauty and summer fruit filled me with delight, but when the days began to grow cool and the leaves turned from darkest green to yellow, I could feel something deep and marvelously intimate begin to take place between us. And as fall turned to winter, this feeling of intimacy grew. With no bees humming among the blossoms, no birds fluttering from limb to limb, no leaves and cherries decorating her branches, my tree seemed to reveal herself to me in her purest form -- in her very essence. And when I embraced her and pressed my ear against her trunk, I could hear the silence that united us. And I knew that was sacred. (Choqosh Auh-Ho-Ho)