Posts Tagged ‘Burmis Tree’

Following is a reprint of a piece on the Burmis Tree that I created in 2004 for Artists for Peace.

Lessons of the Burmis Tree

peace comes with the patience to see the beautiful ™

The Burmis Tree is the most photographed tree in the world. It was sentenced to perch on a ridge along Highway 3, in Southern Alberta, Canada, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, for over 740 years. Its needles were lost in 1978; Chinook winds toppled it in 1998; it was vandalized in 2004. It suffers by living, by acts of love, and by acts of violence. It symbolizes all variations of struggle: right and wrong, life and death, love and hate, safety and danger, peace and violence. At one angle it is lovely, at another grotesque; it has moments of vulnerability and moments of strength; it has stages of dying and stages of immortality. Judgment is a matter of perception. Combine the right light and just the right perspective with an exercise of patience, it is possible to capture an essence. This is a process that creates a magical healing, medicinal joy arising from the sense of peace and calm experienced. Whenever I notice and respect the world around me and whenever I use patience as a tool, I find the light that erases the dark shadows cast by prejudgments. Peace travels the path lit with the beauty of all things.

Lessons of the Tree

#1

When angered, frustrated,
and unable to find my way,
I will simply take a deep breath,
open my mind and wait
for the light to show
me the beauty.
I’m there when I can breathe easily.
Choosing to perceive beauty
in all things,
including myself,
is an exercise of will,
determination, and above all, patience.

#2

My family calls it my tree; it is my soul.
It is okay to let me be.
I will always be here—
not always in a recognizable form
that needs wiring or rewiring.
You need not fix a sigh of relief.
The self is nothing of matter;
it is hard to realize “nothing” matters.
The light of understanding is everywhere.
This is the lesson
of the Burmis Tree.

Last Hurrah

Burmis Tree Photograph

Last Hurrah: Burmis Tree.

This image is one of my most popular images, particularly for special events (weddings, mother’s day, Christmas).

Contact me to order and request a quote. Prices depend upon framing, matting and size, so give me some general information about the final product.

Last Hurrah

Last Hurrah is an SLR photo of the Burmis Tree taken around 8:45 p.m. (mst) August 13, 1998.  Images photographed after the Chinook winds toppled it in November of 1998 will show wires that are used to hold it back up and after March 15, 2004 when the beloved tree was vandalized (someone had taken a chain saw to its lower branch) photos will show the wires to hold the branch on. This image has a spiritual quality to it which is why it was used on the cover of Seeker’s Heart, a Blue Grama publication by author, Regina Coupar, as well as used as a wedding present.

Golden Burmis