I came quite late to think about trees — at least consciously — so I am no expert at all in the matter. But I remember that since a very early age I found big trees comfortable and beautiful. Later I have especially loved oak trees for their majesty, poplar trees for their sound in the wind, and maritime pines, as they evoke for me the relaxation of the seaside.
There is a big majestic linden tree in front of my house. The neighbor who asked me to trim it for his tractors is the same guy who remembers the tree as a young sapling. He is 83 years old, so now I have a better guess as to the age of the tree herself.
The age of trees is fascinating to me. I was in Claremont, California in 2015 at the conference where a new organization was conceived and named after a tree, the Pando Populus, which is recognized as the oldest tree on Earth. Once thought to be about 80,000 years old, it is now believed to be about 15,000 years old because — some researchers say — it could not have survived the last glacial era.
When I compare myself to the Pando, such a difference in its estimated life span is immaterial. From my vantage point, the Pando approaches eternity; I don’t. Even regarding “my” linden tree, albeit knowing that she could also die of illness or calamities or human actions, it seems to me very likely that she will survive me.
There is a meaning in this, which I am still figuring out.
The Pando presents itself as a myriad of tree trunks — about 47,000 — which cover a large area in Utah. Although they appear to be individuals, they are all connected to the same root system. Thus, they have been recognized since 1976 as one organism.
This deep interconnectedness, which allows individuals to exist, is what attracted the founder of Pando Populus as a non-profit. It makes me think of the Jungian concept of the collective unconscious or anima mundi, which not only does not exclude or diminish the relevance of the personal unconscious, but makes possible the existence itself of humanity as individuals, yet more than a conglomerate of individuals.
Pando Populus as an organization is now focused on Los Angeles County and the civic engagement of young people, fostering community-based projects. Its basic idea is to return civic engagement to the heart of education. It’s interesting to me that to work with the young, the founders have chosen such an old tree as a symbol.
The first chair and the inspirer of the organization was John B. Cobb, Jr. (1925-2024), whom I knew as a teacher and community organizer for many years. It is good to see that his legacy lives on in such a concrete project supporting the leadership of young people, besides many other more academic ways.
Cobb’s influence on me was huge. He was the main reason that convinced me to move to California and enroll in a graduate program there rather than somewhere else. John lived to an age most people don’t achieve, and was continually active. Among other things, he would call me up when we both lived in Claremont and ask me about what Matthew Fox was up to. He liked to be informed about everybody who was working for a spirituality of connections and life.
The major points of connection between Cobb and Fox are the rejection of the mechanistic model of reality and the choice of “panentheism” as the best way to talk about the divine in the world. This is to say — in the most succinct way — that everything is in relation to everything else, including the divine, and that is constitutive of their individuality.
The choice that Cobb made of the Pando Populus — the aspen forest which is both one and many — as the final symbol for his legacy is very significant. It gives me food for thought deeper than what my intellect can achieve, deep as the roots of trees and wide as the stretch of the Pando on the Earth.
Quotes about the Pando non-profit are from their website, Friends of Pando.
Banner Image: Aerial photo of Pando shows about 80% of the tree’s 106 acres in Fish Lake Utah. Pando is world’s largest tree by size (106 acres), by weight (13M lbs), and the largest aspen clone ever verified. Photo by Lance Oditt, Friends of Pando, on Wikimedia Commons.
Queries for Contemplation
What do you think we can learn from trees? Are your thoughts enlarged or in any way modified in the presence of trees?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jennifer Listug, Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Matthew Fox and Rupert Sheldrake, Natural Grace: Dialogues on creation, darkness, and the soul in spirituality and science
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
Matthew Fox and Adam Bucko, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation
4 thoughts on “The Age of Trees”
Thank you for reminding us that we are all 13-billion-year-old. For that long, the Universe which, in Thomas Berry’s words, “is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects,” has been whispering “pando” [I unfold, I spread]. To reflect that deeper reality, the motto “E Pluribus Unum” [one rooted in many] could therefore advantageously be inverted into “Ex Uno Plures” [many rooted in one].
My response of what we can learn from Trees is the same as my Comment from yesterday’s DM on Trees. I’m beginning to capitalize words for emphasis that represent or symbolize everything that’s sacred, like we do the uniqueness of our proper names as sacred individuals. In reality, since All of Our Unique Co-Creations are Sacred in Our Loving Diverse Oneness, We probably should capitalize All Our Words if it could be done without loosing our sensitivity and connection of Our Ongoing and Creative Divine Loving Cosmic Consciousness in the Sacrament of the Eternal Present Moment…
I wanted to recommend a book I recently started reading which has also been recommended by Matthew Fox — “Becoming the Change: Evolutionary Rituals and Practices for Everyday Emergence” (2026) by Carol Kilby and Stephan Martin.
Thank you GG for these wonderful meditations on trees.
This also reminds me of the prominent religious and mythological archetype of the Tree of Life. Perhaps the subject of a future meditation.
Trees! I love trees and meditate on them often. They look like upside down human lungs and they clean and metabolize the air we breathe. There is one trunk supporting multiple branches. The roots have a symbiotic relationship with mycelium and they communicate with other trees through this underground network. There are tree seeds which must go through a fire before they can germinate. They are in harmony with the seasons and cycles of nature. They are content being deeply rooted in the same place their whole lives. The tiniest acorn can produce a massive oak given enough time. There’s so much depth in contemplating trees. Sometimes I like to pretend to be a tree — I will stand tall and imagine I’m sending roots into the earth, then spread my alms for the branches and my fingers for the leaves. Then I just breathe.