Tree of Love

"Into love's furnace I am cast"

The tree of love its roots hath spread

Deep in my heart, and rears its head;

Rich are its fruits: they joy dispense;

Transport the heart, and ravish sense.

In love's sweet swoon to thee I cleave,

Bless'd source of love . . . .

~St. Francis of Assisi~

My love and I were talking about how we always return to our base, to the point from which our love emanates. I likened it to the roots of a tree. It is our base, our home, our 'vanilla'. It is where our respect, our appreciation, our admiration, our cherishing of each other, lives. It is where we are so deeply intertwined that we have formed one intricate network of roots, sustaining the flow of our lives.

No matter the season, no matter if the tree is in leaf or flower or fruit or bare, it is carried at all times by the roots. No matter wind or storm or canopy of ice or searing heat, the integrity of the root system is what keeps it strong. No matter limbs torn or severed, the roots keep it anchored and it can heal. It can rejuvenate.

And so it is with our love. It's not about the beauty of the trunk, the branches, the leaves, the flowers or the fruit. It's about the anchor and the sustenance. And those come from the roots. That is where our love resides, deep and strong and supportive of all we endure. We bask in joy and delight over each other's form and appearance, but where it all matters is beneath the surface, in the parts unseen but felt so very intensely.

You can wrench a tree from the ground, but so long as there are enough roots still attached, it stands a good chance of survival if transplanted. And so it is with us. Our plans may uproot us from where we are today and while that may cause us to wilt a little for a while, so long as the love, the roots, are intact, we will survive anything.