Dancing on the Brink of the World

A MULTIMEDIA SHOWCASE OF THE MONTEREY CYPRESS

As the signature species of Cypress Lawn Arboretum, Hesperocyparis macrocarpa has graced the landscape of our storied Memorial Park since its founding in the late 1800s. Century-old specimens may be found on each campus across our acreage, and this one tree will likely define the cemeteries of Cypress Lawn for all eternity.

The tale of the Monterey Cypress, though, branches out far beyond the grounds of our cherished Arboretum, originating on a lonely rocky outcropping of the California coastline and today reaching by sea and by seed to every habitable continent on Earth. My dear friend, Old Hespero, lives a grand global narrative of kinship shared between people and trees, spanning across generations, and spreading to the distant corners of our planet, along the way fostering a cultural connection with humanity that grows on as an anecdote of our deeply rooted relationship with all of nature.

The stories, photographs, paintings, and poems of this virtual exhibit will share this ongoing message with you, one volume at a time over the seasons to come. As is often true in the interwoven tapestry of life, one string stitches to another, and yet another, perhaps in unforeseen ways, leading in time to a vast work of art with meaning and beauty beyond the intention of any one thread. Such is true of the growing saga of the Monterey cypress, continuing here in these words and ever dancing on the brink of the world.

Featured Post – Volume XVII – Celebration

I have but one journey, only my own vantage to speak from.  If these words can call but one person closer to this infinite path of embodied being, that is good.  If my story finds many ears, that is great.  I care not for credit, not for vain recognition.  My being is nurtured by affirmation, as is any; to find community on this walk graces each step I may take.

But connection with nature is infinite, is our vast belonging, is the origin of humankind.  Somewhere along the way, so many among us have gotten lost, trying to trace a straight and narrow road.  May there always be hope, yet, for anyone to find the courage to leave the paved path, to wander onto the safety of home soil.  For the trees are our primary dwelling, and not all those who wander are lost…