Why Not Redwood?

Do you ever dream about accomplishing something massive or making a difference so great that you feel high on life? Where you feel as though you’re towering over the Statue of Liberty, a wide range of people from multiple backgrounds depend on you, you can withstand against the harshest winds trying to tear you down, and even in times of darkness your own light allows you to grow even taller and stronger? Kind of like a redwood…

After starting this blog I have had several people ask me, “Why Redwood?” or “What is a redwood?” I chuckled, mainly because I realized my mistake of assuming most people were aware of the vast greatness of these trees, let alone the simple fact of what they were. I am here to shed some light on the subject.

In March 2012 I ventured to Occidental, California (right outside the wine country) to partake in a canopy zipline tour among the redwoods. To put it simply, it was amazing. We soared hundred of feet above the ground, whizzed through the sky up to 800 feet of distance in one go, and at such high speeds that you felt the brisk air sting your cheeks and rush through your nostrils as the most fresh breath of air you could ever imagine inhaling. While standing on the platform surrounding one of the redwoods I found a new appreciation of just how tall these trees really are. As I peered over the edge my gut tightened a bit as I looked several hundred feet below while feeling the trunk of the tree gently sway back and forth with the wind. Yet the trees still continued another 100(30 m) feet overhead. Fun fact, many redwoods are taller than 300 feet (91 m), many growing over 360 (110 m) feet which is taller than the Statue of Liberty (305 ft/93 m).

For a more visual perspective, the person zipling in this picture is 6’4″.

Let’s swing into a few more nerd facts about redwoods and why I feel it suits this blog. (Get it, ‘swing’ because I went ziplining… OK, corny) By the way, as reassurance I found my facts from an educational website about sequoias, so I’m not making these up. 😛 (http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2009/hemmeric_nata/Habitat%20and%20Geography.htm)

1. Redwoods can withstand harsh wind conditions due to its root system.

Interesting. Why and what is the relevance? Good question! I mentioned earlier the rhythmic sway of the redwoods as it stood against the wind. These trees can maintain their stance because their roots reach a depth of about 10-13 feet (3/4m), but also spread outward between a range of roughly 60-80 feet (18-24 m).

From a life perspective we can grow to be strong and tough like redwoods. We all have our roots based where and how we grew up; we all have our own story. We have all grown up in different settings such as cities, the countryside, moving around a lot. However, our upbringing, our families, our culture, our own personal experiences continue to separate us form the others brought up in the same setting as us. Again, we all have our own story with its own influence, beliefs, standards, dreams.

When we travel we have the chance to broaden and add events to this story we have already created, to expand our roots. We all know the cliches of, “When one door closes, another opens,” or everyone posting pictures and stating how they’re excited for their “new chapter.” I secretly have always loved cliches. Sometimes I laugh because cliches, merely existing as cliches, means they are not very original. Yet this status came about by their overwhelming popularity to be able to connect to a large amount of people, to be able to simply express what someone is going through, and everyone on the receiving end of the cliche to understand the original person’s feat and have the chance to celebrate with them. And in the end these cliches of being, “So excited to start this next chapter of my life!” come from very unique stories. Funny, isn’t it?

When we travel we can come to realize that these roots make up who we are, but they are not all we are. When we allow them to venture further out and reach the next chapter of our story we may look back at our base roots, our first chapters, and while they remain the same we may edit how we interpret them. When we expose ourselves to the world we may also enrich each other with our knowledge and points of view as well. With this we too, like redwoods, can withstand the toughest storms because we’ve been through a lot already. However, we must remember to be flexible. When that wind resists us we should take the risk to dance with it, truly understand it, become one with it. Some customs may not make sense at first, but neither do ours to everyone else. If we give the wind those dances we may find yourself a new partner in our ways of thinking and views on life, but when it pushes too hard we’ll be able to fight back due to the deep and wide roots we have anchored.

2. Redwoods are trees, being a tree, they rely on sunlight as their direct source of energy.

However, redwoods, being bad ass redwoods, are known to even efficiently use sunlight while being heavily shaded. How can we relate to this? It is possible to manifest the positive energy of those surrounding us to eventually grow to great heights. Sometimes traveling or living abroad can be lonely or seem to lose its zeal a bit, but we are not alone. Find others experiencing your situation and depend on each other. You can still be independent while seeking out help. In fact, I believe when searching for help we actually embrace our independence because we know our limits and when we must find other means to improve ourselves. It does not make us weak, but strong and able to conquer feats when we are not at our best or a less than ideal situation.

3. One way redwoods can reproduce are they “can sprout from fallen trees.”

Wow! Even after we leave our home town, a country we visited, a city we lived in, or possibly walked away from a task we could just not quite accomplish, we leave an impression. Even after we’ve gone a difference we made can continue to thrive, a word of advice we gave can be carried out, a memory we created can be remembered, or that task we failed can give rise for someone else to flourish. At times we may find ourselves in a more negative situation, but I am a firm believer that we can find light in the dark, just like the redwoods, and maybe lead way for someone else to grasp or realize a new, promising opportunity.

4. Like all living things, redwoods interact with many other species.

They provide protection and shelter for various wildlife, flowers, plants, etc. while they in turn help the tree. However, not everything is perfect. I read a research article (I told you I was a bit of a nerd) by Gusti that explained redwoods are threatened by black bears clawing at their bark. He wrote, “Understanding how to recognize that damage, and taking into account that some forest practices may cue bears into feeding on redwoods are the first step toward an integrated approach to solving the problem.” (1988)

Again, this can apply to our own well-being and utilizing those around us, but also on a global scale. We need to understand and collaborate with each other to properly appreciate what we all go through every day, what surrounding cultures have to offer, what develops our perspectives, and how to go about solving issues. There may be people in higher power than us, but we are the foundation. We must understand each other so we can find our passions, get involved in what we believe needs fixing, educate about topics that need to be heard, and do what we believe is right. Yet me must do it in a correct way and to do that we must truly know and experience all different perspectives, not make assumptions based off storied and headlines. Form your own opinions, do your own research, and have your own experiences.

In the end, I hope this post answers the questions of, “What is a redwood?” or “Why redwood” To sum up; I believe we should be strong by being educated in our roots, being willing to spread them and letting them expand and be exposed to new places; relying on each other, dancing with the wind, and resisting it when it pushes too hard; growing in the light of dark situations; and interacting with those around us far and wide. At the same time we will experience the exhilaration of towering with, or even above, the Statue of Liberty.

In return for answering your questions, I have a few questions for you. Why not get our there and travel? Why not accomplish your goals? Why not face your fears, even if they reach great heights? Why not teach and learn? Why not redwood? Why not you?