Photo : Johannes Plenio (via Pexel)

Preoccupied with a single leaf, you won’t see the tree. Preoccupied with a single tree, you’ll miss the entire forest.

Marie-Judith Jean-Louis

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5 min read

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Apr 6, 2019

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There’s a saying that everything you need in life is available to you right now in your current environment. However, if you don’t look at it from the right perspective or the right mindset, you’ll miss it.

“Preoccupied with a single leaf, you won’t see the tree. Preoccupied with a single tree, you’ll miss the entire forest.”

This quote from Takuan Soho (a major figure in the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism) is what I believe to be a perfect example of mindfulness. Mindfulness, as I currently understand it, is the ability to see better or from a wider perspective. That way you’re never stuck in one place and you can find the solutions you’re looking for. Mindfulness is also the ability to shift your perspective in order to fully understand where you stand. The leaf, the tree and the forest are great metaphors that can represent various areas of life.

Take, for example, a recent incident in Toronto where a woman got into a dangerous confrontation with a car at an intersection while crossing the street, with a child in a stroller. Most media only show the part where it looks like she nearly gets hit, yells at the driver, hops on the hood of the car as the car tries to leave and the stroller is left unattended in the middle of the street.

Focused on the single leaf

Focusing on the single leaf can be considered the first stage of mindfulness. It’s the lowest stage but at least you noticed something. In the case of the story of the mom almost getting hit by a car, it would be noticing the headline: “Stroller vs. Car : Midtown confrontation caught on video” and clicking on the link to watch it which would most likely make you upset or scared, like some of the people interviewed in the video. Most would also think something like “How can this careless driver be so heartless and almost run over this poor mom and child in a residential area?”. They would become emotionally invested in that story, voicing their emotionally charged opinions and sharing that link with their peers for them to also get upset, keeping them focused on that single leaf and missing out on the tree.

Focused on the single tree

Focusing on the tree and not just the leaf, the second stage of mindfulness, means taking the story into context by doing a little more research to get the whole picture. In this case, it was as simple as looking through the comments to find the original video footage showing what led to that altercation. In the video you can see that both the driver and the woman were in the wrong. The driver did not come to a complete stop and the woman decided to try to beat the car by running through the intersection instead of slowing down her pace. Both of them were focused on their own leaves. The driver wanted to get to his destination as quickly as possible and the woman wanted to make sure the driver knew it was her turn to cross. If both were more mindful, chances are this altercation would not have happened. The driver would have noticed the woman and her stroller waiting to cross and the woman would have slowed down her pace and put her and the child’s safety above being right.

When you’re more mindful as a reader, you take the time to broaden your perspective, you look for the full story by piecing facts from several angles and you ask questions. One question that came to mind for me was “Is she even the mother of that child?”. I initially assumed that the lady was the mother of the child just because she was walking with the stroller but maybe she wasn’t. Would a mom put her child in harms way like that, just to prove a point? Also, how could something like this be prevented in the future?

Focused on the single forest

Focusing on the forest instead of the tree, the third stage of mindfulness, would be to look at what caused a situation like this to occur in the first place and how can it be prevented since altercations like this in this area of town are not unique. Major constructions on the nearby main road are diverting the cars towards smaller residential streets, causing increasing frustration for both the residents and the drivers. How can that be alleviated? A better temporary design of the roads taking into consideration the traffic during rush hours is something that hasn’t been effectively implemented. Perhaps the city officials in that area as well as the resident should come up with a proper plan to clearly divert and direct the flow of traffic in such a way that incidents like this don’t happen again. Redesigning the flow of traffic with clear indications of where everyone should go, instead of leaving frustrated drivers and pedestrians to figure this out for themselves, would be an improvement.

Focused on the planet

I’ve taken the liberty of adding one more step to my “mindfulness scale” by considering the fact that it’s just one forest out of thousands of forests on the planet. What is our role on situations like these. A lot of us see newsfeed and share it with peers without thinking about the consequences of our actions and our involvement in either helping to make things better or to make things worst. Is sharing a link to a similar story having a positive or a negative impact in other people’s lives? By sharing the sensational video of the lady vs the car without context, chances are you’ll just get more people upset, which can lead to a divide between Team Mom-with-the-stroller-almost-hit-by-careless-driver vs Team Driver-attacked-by-crazy-mom-with-her-stroller. But it doesn’t improve anything. Instead, it keeps things just the way they are. What could we do to make things better? How can we contribute to improve the situation instead of adding fuel to the fire. For me, taking the time to write about it and offering a wider perspective, is my contribution. What’s yours?

We can easily get caught up being preoccupied by that one leaf that’s being eaten by a bug or that has been vandalized by someone. We can then become upset and focus all our energy on that single leaf, completely missing the fact that that’s only one leaf out of thousands of leaves on one tree out of thousands of trees in one forests out of thousands of forests on one planet.

That’s the power of mindfulness. Take the time to step out of your comfort zone, your reality, open your eyes to see more than what you’re accustomed to, get a greater perspective and then take positive actions. This applies to everything in life (politics, conflicts, finance, depression, relationships, career, conversations, health, family, life purpose, etc). Practicing mindfulness start with paying attention and shifting your perspective to see the bigger picture. Start by noticing things around you. It could be something as simple as a person, a place or an object. Just observe and let you mind show you what you’ve been missing all along.

 

Leaf Collecting & Safety

 

Collecting and preserving leaves is a great way to learn tree identification. It is also a method that can be used to document the different varieties of trees on your property or to inventory trees at a park or school campus as a class project. Below are some examples of how to make your own leaf collection book, either by the traditional method or digitally.

Collecting Leaves Traditionally

• To make a traditional leaf collection, it is best to collect in late summer or fall. Follow these simple steps for the traditional method of collecting leaves:
• Ask permission to remove leaves from other people’s trees.
• Be aware of thorns on trees such as honey locust. Also, poison ivy (which causes allergic reactions in some people and should, therefore, be avoided) may be growing on the ground or it may be growing on the tree that you are examining. Sometimes it may even appear to be the leaves on the tree. Familiarize yourself with poison ivy prior to collecting leaves. As a reminder, leaves of three, let it be.
• Before collecting leaves, observe the entire tree, branches, fruit, leaves, buds, and bark. It is best to collect a twig with a bud and all leaves on the stem as well as any flowers or fruits (may have to return several times throughout the year to get all of this).
• While collecting leaves, store the selected leaves either between magazine pages, your field guide, or a phone book. Place a number by the leaf and on a separate piece of paper write down the corresponding number and as much information about the tree and pertinent information on the location as possible.
• Keep records of corresponding numbers to the tree locations as well as other information that may help aid in identification (examples-wet area, dry hill, description of soil, exposure, etc.).
• Make sure you have the entire leaf, not just the leaflet; i.e., pecan, hickory, or ash have multiple leaflets comprising one leaf. Choose the best leaves that represent the tree.
• Preserve the leaves using the instructions listed below.

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Preserving Leaves

The best way to preserve your leaves is by using a leaf press,
either made or purchased.

• Instructions for preserving and mounting leaves are as follows:
• Depending on the size of the leaf, it will take about a week for the leaf to dry. The longer the leaf is allowed to dry, the better the final product.
• If a leaf press is not available, layer individual leaves between stacks of newspapers or in a phone book. Top with something flat such as a board to help keep the leaves from shifting and then stack books or other heavy objects on top.
• Once the leaves are dry they can be placed onto biology paper, sealed with clear contact paper, and stored in an album or three ring binder. Design each page of the album the same: place the leaf in the center, and include an identification tag.
• The identification tag should include the common name, scientific name, collection date, location, description, and name of the collector.
• The scientific name and tree description may be copied and pasted from the List of Trees section or other sources/links common to your area.

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Collecting Leaves Digitally

If traditional leaf collecting and preserving does not meet your needs, then making a digital collection for a book of yard trees, school trees, or community trees, might be the solution. Follow these simple steps for collecting leaves digitally:

• Take pictures of the entire tree, branches, fruit, leaves, buds, and bark. Zoom in for a picture of a leaf. Make sure you have the entire leaf, not just the leaflet; i.e., pecan, hickory, or ash have multiple leaflets comprising one leaf. This will aid in proper tree identification.
• Keep records of corresponding photo numbers to the tree locations as well as other information that may help aid in identification (examples-wet area, dry hill, description of soil, exposure, etc.)
• Upload pictures to the computer and use either publishing software or an on-line photo album to design your book.
• Use the How to ID section to help identify the tree (or other sources/links common to your area). Design each page of the booklet the same: a place for a large picture of the leaf, smaller pictures of the rest of the tree and an identification tag.
• At a minimum, the identification tag should include the common name, scientific name, collection date, location, description, and name of the photographer.
• The scientific name and tree description may be copied and pasted from the List of Trees section.
• Print out a copy of your book. For a more professional product, use a print shop, or order from an on-line photo shop.

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Safety

When collecting leaves you should be aware of poisonous plants, insects and other potentially dangerous critters. If you are aware of nature’s inhabitants, you should be fine. Whether in a forest or a city park, we share this land with many creatures and we should always respect their homes. Hands-on learning is the best way to experience and understand our place in it. Being knowledgeable about nature's inhabitants will go a long way in keeping fear from inhibiting enjoyment of the natural world.

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Poison Ivy

Contact of skin to any part of this plant can cause an itchy rash. Some people experience more extreme reactions. Poison ivy is a three leafed plant and can be found growing as a vine or on the ground. Just remember, leaves of three let it be and you should be fine.

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Educator Extensions

Project Learning Tree (PLT) is an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and educators of students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. The PLT Activity Guides are available from participating in a one day workshop. Find more information about Texas PLT and workshops near you at http://plttexas.org/. If you can’t find a workshop in your area, contact us to schedule one at your facility.

The following activities relate to Leaf Collecting from the PLT PreK-8 Activity Guide:

Grades PreK - 2

• The Shape of Things (#1)
• Adopt a Tree (#21)
• Looking at Leaves (#64)
• Bursting Buds (#65)

Grades 3 - 6

• Adopt a Tree (#21)
• Looking at Leaves (#64)
• Bursting Buds (#65)
• Name That Tree (#68)

Grades 6 – 8

• Looking at Leaves (#64)
• Name That Tree (#68)

 

For more information about Texas PLT, TEKS correlations and how you can get these resources:

Visit - www.plttexas.org or www.plt.org

Texas Project Learning Tree is sponsored by:
Texas Forestry Association
Texas A&M Forest Service