Hints of gladness
Jeff took this photo of me exultant amid the beauty of Muir Woods, May 2003.
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily. – Mary Oliver
I had already begun putting this post together when I looked for a link to include with Mary Oliver’s name. That was how I found out she had just died. I gasped aloud, feeling suddenly the deep sadness shared by countless others whose hearts were touched and reassured by Oliver’s work. I have already featured many quotes from her poems in this blog. When I chose this one for today, I had no idea she had so recently left this world.
There were all sorts of things I could have shared about trees in this post, but really, what more needs to be said than what Oliver put into words in this remarkable poem? May your life be filled with such hints of gladness, there for you when you need them most.
This post was first published seven years ago today. The blog is not designed for viewing on cell phones, but you can get a less distorted version of the photos if you click on the “view on blog” link at the top right of the screen. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, at the individual post views. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Tagged: calm, gladness, inspiration, Mary Oliver, nature, poetry, rescue, silence, solace, strength, trees, woods
Defeat Despair 
Hi Julia,
I like the photo! You look happy.
Being surrounded by the woods is calming in and of itself. When, as a teenager, I would take week long backpacking trips on the AT, I could feel the serenity and peace when I was alone, amidst all the trees. And it was around then, maybe in high school, I read Harry Behn’s children’s poem about trees. I could understand the sense of generosity and selflessness that trees provided. Found most recently in a children’s book, “Trees” is still one of my favorites! 😊
“Trees are the kindest things I know,
They do no harm, they simply grow
And spread a shade for sleepy cows,
And gather birds among their bows.
They give us fruit in leaves above,
And wood to make our houses of,
And leaves to burn on Halloween
And in the Spring new buds of green.
They are first when day’s begun
To tough the beams of morning sun,
They are the last to hold the light
When evening changes into night.
And when a moon floats on the sky
They hum a drowsy lullaby
Of sleepy children long ago…
Trees are the kindest things I know.”
Chris, what a lovely poem! I have never seen it before. Thanks for sharing it. When we first moved “back East” after spending most of Jeff’s career in the west (and beyond), we felt a bit claustrophobic at the number of densely growing trees in much of Virginia. We had grown used to seeing mostly sky in the West. However, in no time at all, I was happy to be back among the trees I had loved since childhood. I’ve written here before about the wooded area I jokingly called our “lower 40” that stretched from the edge of our back lawn to the creek behind. The wooded area was roughly the same size as our back lawn, and was part of protected wetlands, so it was very private. I loved going there on hot summer days because it was always so much cooler than areas where the sun shone. I loved my brief time working for the Tennessee Division of Forestry, just before we got married. I learned so much about trees and how important they are, but this poem captures all those reasons in verse everyone can understand and enjoy.
Julia,
This photo of you & the poem brings to mind the lovely walk we took behind your home. I treasure the time spent with you & the photo you snapped of me under an umbrella!
The “hints of gladness” God provides keep me level, shall we say. Praising our Lord!
Love,
MaryAnn
Hi Mary Ann,
Yes, God is so gracious to send us these “hints of gladness” as a reminder of truth that is much larger than we are able to see or understand. We too have treasured memories of time with you. As we all grow older (can you believe Matthew will be 41 this year?!!) such memories become ever more precious.
Good morning, Julia!
I don’t recall seeing this post before. I must have missed it. You look like you’re “forest bathing.” I love walking through forests. Muir Woods sounds so familiar. I looked it up and now recognize where it is in California. Speaking of California, I’ve been told that my next gig, starting Monday, will involve 50% travel to Valencia, California. I’m wondering if they’d let me stay even more! It would be lovely to spend some weekends exploring.
Susan, that sounds like a great place to work temporarily. Valencia is in LA County, but not really close to the city. If memory serves me, the landscape there is nice and there would be many wonderful places to explore within an easy drive (easy by California standards, anyway, where driving distance takes on a whole different standard than in the east). It’s adjacent to Ventura County and not far from gorgeous Santa Barbara County, where we spent some of the happiest years of our lives. Of course, much has changed since then.