Be More Tree!

An exploration of Sequoia National park, starting over, and the gift of time

Last year, while I was feeling very lost, my mentor, Alexia, said something that stood out to me in a guidance session. Instead of lamenting about my problems or woes, or giving me an outright solution, she just stated:

“I see you in a place with very tall trees.”

This is not dissimilar to advice I have received before — intuitive people are often the first to tell me to “get outside” when there is something I still have yet to learn.

Fast forward to fall of 2025: My best friend Pawla and I set out on our first ever great adventure into the American west. We lived out of a 2006 Toyota Sienna. The Grove of Giant Sequoias was our first stop — we arrived right before sundown. As an east coaster, I had never learned about fires or the life that thrives alongside them — fire was something destructive, something to fear.

Sequoia trees see fire as the exact opposite of destructive or fearful. They require a burn to germinate using a cone-to-seed strategy. Very small seeds remain inside the cones for a long time, up to 20 years, and must be released on mineral-rich soil left bare by fire to successfully take root.

Sequoia trees grow, against all odds, into the largest, most dense living species on the planet. They experience many burns, some of which leave scars, over the seasons of their wildly long lives. These giants are living proof that there is a method to what seems like chaos, that the burn is necessary for new life to take root, and (it’s cliche, but) we are all able to grow into something new with the gift of time.

A portrait of me with my new friends & teachers, the sequoia trees