The Hole. The Whole.

Today, I remembered this note in my "Grieving Gardens" files and it resonated with me: "During our therapy session today (May 8), Jinny likened the way a tree grows around an obstruction, or sometimes grows a hole in its trunk, to how we need to see our own healing with our loss represented by the hole in the trunk of the living tree."

Yes, I can see this. I am walking around with a big, disfiguring hole as part of my wholeness. I don't feel like I'm healing very well, yet, but I hope to be more "normal," more "functional," less distraught and less messed up as time goes on.

It's very common for trees to develop holes in limbs or trunks as they grow and age. Arborists generally refer to these as cavities or pockets of decay. If one or more of the walls that line the hole fails, it becomes a pathway for decay-causing organisms to make their way inside the tree.

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