From Thich Nhat Hanh–
One autumn day, I was in a park, absorbed in the contemplation of a very small but beautiful leaf, in the shape of a heart. Its color was almost red, and it was barely hanging on the branch, nearly ready to fall down. I spent a long time with it, and I asked the leaf a lot of questions …
I asked the leaf whether it was scared because it was autumn and the other leaves were falling. The leaf told me, “No. During the whole spring and summer I was very alive. I worked hard and helped nourish the tree, and much of me is in the tree. Please do not say that I am just this form, because the form of leaf is only a tiny part of me. I am the whole tree. I know that I am already inside the tree, and when I go back to the soil, I will continue to nourish the tree. That’s why I do not worry. As I leave this branch and float to the ground, I will wave to the tree and tell her, ‘I will see you again very soon.’”
From Chris Wallach–
We are gathered here by Zoom because we have lost someone who is very close to us and we are grieving. We can look deeply and see the ways in which she continues. She has nourished so many of us. Some parts of who we are are manifest because of our connections with her. She is like the leaf on the tree that has fallen and continues to nourish the tree. Our community and this world are her tree, the tree that Jean nourished. Jean is still very much alive in each of us who knew her, were touched by her, or were touched by those who knew her. She continues in each of us. We are her continuation.
