by Michael Gornik
It became a tradition, during our years in Hawaii, to plant trees as part of Yogananda’s birthday celebration in the early part of every new year. Years ago, we chose a monkey pod seedling, a majestic shade tree known for its vast canopy, and found a perfect spot to plant it directly adjacent to the Community Green. As we gathered around, sang, prayed and planted this tiny twig of a sapling, I tried to imagine the entirety of its hopefully long life. I saw it growing tall and strong, giving shade and beauty, and imagined children climbing, swinging from its branches and resting under it. I visualized this tree down the decades, eventually outliving all of us there and, in the moment of planting it, contemplated the connectedness of its life, our lives, and all the future lives of those who might come to know and enjoy its beauty.
Each following year, since this particular tree seemed to call for it, we concluded our Yogananda birthday celebration by visiting the tree and taking pictures of its rapid growth. Thanks to the ‘forever’ growing season in Hawaii, by year three, children were in fact, already climbing into its branches:
it was already a significant shade tree, offering shelter and a lovely place to relax. Though the lava came in 2018 and many of our trees died, the monkey pod tree survived and is still thriving and sharing its beauty today. Before our final exit from the island in 2020, we took one last picture with our beloved tree:
And here it is from a picture taken just a few days ago:
Our new Polestar Village landscape plan includes over 450 new trees! Through tree planting and countless other avenues, all of us will have plenty of opportunity to share life and beauty with our descendants, many of whom we may never meet.
With gratitude,
Michael
