PLEASE CALL ME LINDE
I am both mother earth and father sky. Mother earth cradles my body and nourishes me from below. Like a child, I soak up her sustenance and spread her loving spirit to every chamber and cell within. Father sky cares for me in other ways. His domain extends from horizon to horizon. The source of his luminous radiance is enlightenment. I seek and am granted his vast knowledge. Around me lies a curious space, a room yet to be explored. I play with my leaves and extend my limbs in an effort to touch and experience the extent of my terrain. My friends reach out as well, and one small branch meets another. To the bottom and to the top of things, I also aspire to go. Down, to the essence of the earth, my rooty body wanders. Up, to the dome of my cathedral, I unfold myself in search of an end. I provide each domain with that which it requires. To the bellies of the earthy layers below, I transport the sun-baked bread from above. To the light-filled spheres above, I pass on the moist palette from below.
And so, I fulfill my promise: to enrich every body, every space, and to transmit the essence of the above to the below, and to enrich the below with the essence of the above.
In autumn, my leaves fall. Some find their way back to the earth. Some are carried high and far away by the winds. Some of my leaves fall to the water at my feet and hover on its silky surface. Just the slightest touch changes this mirrored upper layer of water, forming circles that expand out, one after the other, like thoughts in search of conclusion. The water’s surface separates, like a veil, the two realms: the above and the below. Yet these two belong together, and some of my leaves already know how it feels to look at the world from the other side.
Like everything in nature, I live in light, water, and earth. I am connected in some ethereal way to all the creations of this planet and beyond. For me, there is no “I” and no “you,” no “mine” and no “yours.” I am part of everything as much as everything is equally part of me. Calm, present, and insurmountable, I give myself to the eternal cycle of life.
Home:
Germany, Kleve, Neuer Tiergarten, Prinz-Moritz-Kanal, Lindenallee
Tree species:
Tilia intermedia “Pallida,” Imperial linde
Tree family:
Malvaceae, mallows
Common Names:
Linden (Europe), basswood (North America), lime (Britain)
Motivation:
I have a particularly close relationship to the linden tree. An old gnarled linden grew right in front of my parents’ house. Its fragrances and helicopter seedlings captivated me as a child. This view of the linden alley park in the city of Kleve fascinated me. Everything appeared to take place on distinctly different levels, and at the same time, all was clearly interconnected.