Tree Reflection
I found the Treeline short film to be incredibly fascinating. I very much enjoyed the calming cinematography and editing that was used to convey the meditative and introspective ambience that trees elicit. What I found the most fascinating was how compounds in trees are similar to the structure of neurotransmitters in our brains. All of the scientists that were featured in the short film made it clear that we as humans have a spiritual connection to trees. Because, not only are they important for the survival of all life, but the way they communicate and coexist within their environment is somewhat similar to how we as humans operate. Trees, however, are more adaptive than we are and aren't clouded by consciousness or the human condition, and in their own way exude a powerful presence of life and wisdom. I gained a whole new appreciation for trees after watching the film, and gained a new perspective through the Herman Hesse excerpt from Wandering Thoughts and Sketches. My favorite part was when he said, "When we are stricken and cannot bear our lives any longer, then a tree has something to say to us: Be still! Be still! Look at me! Life is not easy, life is not difficult. Those are childish thoughts...Home is neither here nor there. Home is within you, or home is nowhere at all." Hesse seems to make the same point that the short film was trying to convey: that we have a lot to learn from trees and we should treasure them always. Some cultures have understood the immense value of trees for centuries, so much so that they worship them as gods and still preserve and worship them to this day. Unfortunately, this understanding has not been apparent to all cultures throughout the world and we are now in a crisis, which the short film makes clear towards the end. The message and intent of Treeline and Wandering Thoughts and Sketches were obvious, however "Poem about Trees" by K. Silem Mohammad left me more clueless than I was before I read it. His form and word choice are scrambled and incoherent, and I am stumped as to what "people write poems about trees and the words / are shaped like trees" means. Nonetheless, I think Mohammad might have been making the same argument that Hesse and the short film were saying, just in a more complex and layered way.
I also found it interesting how trees were compared to human brains and how the same types of neurotransmitters are found. That was one aspect of the video that I wish was delved into more. I also found it interesting how the scientists shown were able to talk about trees in a scientific sense, but then also discuss trees in a spiritual one too. For example, one of the scientists mentioned that the trees reminded her of pews in a church. I feel like most of the time science and spirituality is often disconnected from each other, so it was interesting to hear both perspectives in the same conversation. I think the video could have had included that extra element of describing the science along with the spiritual aspect to further showcase the different perspectives of what trees mean to people.
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