Redwoods

“Every Adversity…every heartache, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit”-Napoleon Hill

I had visited the redwoods in July 2018.

The current pandemic reminded me of something insightful I had learnt on that visit to Muir Woods i.e Existence takes care of itself, there is intelligence and we must let nature take its course.

I learned that during the early 1900’s there had hardly been any growth among redwoods for fifty years. No one knew why until finally it was revealed that park rangers had been too efficient in their work they had successfully put out all the forest fires.

It turned out that redwoods need a periodic fire to clear the way for their seeds to sprout. Here was a graphic example of how good intentions without proper knowledge can create setbacks.

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The small , oatmeal grain sized redwood seed is embedded in a very hard , dry cone and cannot be freed without some sort of intervention. The heat of a forest fire cracks open the cone and releases the seed which then falls to the ground. The fire burns away brush and shrubs so the seed can reach the soil and take root. When the seed spouts, too much sun can kill it. Ashes from forest fire cover the seeds until it has time to grow. Fire enriches the soil with necessary nutrients.

Once the sprout begins to grow, it needs abundant sunlight. That too is aided by fire, which has cleared away plants and small trees that block the sun.

Nature knows what it is doing. We humans have intervened far too much.

We have been running the world our way . It’s time we allow Earth to reset, the way it wants to.