Ten questions for you

I found the following ten questions on a lectern in St James Churchyard. Somebody made the time and effort to share them. Whoever you are, thanks. I don’t have any religious faith, but I do like to stop and think. Feel free to do likewise…..

What happens when you plant a tree?
What happens when you wield a shovel in one hand (a human artefact) and a tree (a provisional mystery) in the other?
What happens when you dig a hole (a Kali-like destruction) and plant a tree within it (an act of creativity)?
What happens when you learn about your local ecology not just as an observer, but also as a participant?
What happens when you embrace the wildness of a tree-being and integrate it into the semi-wild streets and streams of your local community?

What happens when you crack open your isolated sense of self and plant within your heart this symbol of ever-branching inter-being?
What happens when you consider your actions in terms of ecological and cultural legacy?
What happens when you move beyond your concerns of today and enquire what type of ancestor you will be?

Nelson Henderson posits that, “…. one true meaning of life is to plant a tree under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”
Under whose shade do you sit beneath today?
Whose shade shall you help gift for tomorrow?

News story by Joe Hashman – July 2026

Enquiries to Shaftesbury Orchard Town can be made via Shaftesbury Tree Group at planetshaftesbury@gmail.com or visit the website planetshaftesbury.org