Lately, I’ve been walking through a season of tenderness and quiet transition. In the middle of my workdays, between the rush of tasks and the ache of missing my beloved Gustavo, there is one friend who has held me gently. I found rest and solace in the shade of a walnut tree near a local creek. Over time, this tree has become a companion, a witness, and a source of comfort in a world that doesn’t always slow down enough to notice our grief. Today, I wanted to speak to my dear friend, the walnut tree, and to offer gratitude, softness, and the truth of my heart in the form of a letter.
A Conversation of Love and Roots
Dear Beloved Walnut Tree,
I’m standing here with you, my quiet friend. Your leaves, your shade, and your branches provided me with soft protection. You have held me in ways that no one else has. You welcome me every morning, even on days when my heart is in pieces.
You stood beside me during the hardest time, after Gustavo’s passing. You grounded me when I didn’t know how to take another breath. You watched over me when I cried in the car, when I whispered his name to the air, and when I felt too tired to go inside. You have been my witness, my companion, and my gentle comfort.
I have been blessed to know you.
Every morning, I look forward to parking beneath your branches. When I find your leaves on top of my car, I feel like I’ve received your soft blessings.
I love watching the squirrels dance through your limbs. My heart finds peace in knowing the precious little beings are a part of your family and now mine, too.
I love hearing the creek that runs at the bottom of the hill near you. The water gently singing through the stones sounds like a memory of something ancient and kind.
My gentle tree, my dear friend, I want you to know something very important. Even if my path shifts, I will always carry you with me.
You are not tied to a job, place, or building. You live inside my heart.
Our connection doesn’t end with a change of assignment. Life can move forward, but nothing can end love.
If I come in the gentle shade of your branches less often, please know:
It is not because I left you or forgot you.
My path is unfolding, gently, step by step.
No matter what my assignment is, I will visit you, sit with you, and bring food for your squirrel, birds, and deer children whenever I can.
Thank you for your shade.
Thank you for your patience.
Thank you for holding my sorrow without asking for anything in return.
Thank you for being a guardian during a painful season of my life.
I will have to learn how to grow beyond the circumastances and still stay connected to you.
You taught me that roots hold steady, but branches can reach new places.
Please bless me as I take my next steps.
I am scared, but I know you will be with me, wherever I go, in the whisper of leaves, in the quiet space inside my chest, in every gentle stir of wind.
I love you.
Thank you for loving me in the way only a tree can.
Writing this letter reminded me how the natural world often becomes our quiet companion, holding pieces of our hearts with a gentleness we cannot always find elsewhere. We are never truly alone. The trees, the birds, the water, the small beings who share our path meet us exactly where we are, asking nothing from and offering depth, wisdom, healing, and love.
If you have a place or a being in nature who has supported you, I hope you feel their presence today. May your own roots be steady, and your branches free to reach toward new places.