Each tree was in constant restless motion, and was dabbed with golden color from the West. And I understood why our ancestors, some of them anyway, thought there was a spirit in every stone and a spirit in every tree. I understood also why theologians long ago, some of them anyway, argued that the various parts of Nature are not merely alive but are actually creatures, going through their own life cycle from birth to death. The myth is trying to say that this schizophrenic creature isn't Nature as it was intended to be. Somehow, it has degenerated from its original design and plan.
Science laughs such mythology to scorn.
Those are themes worth thinking about during a walk in the woods, among the trees. They are also worth thinking about when we are at our place of work. Its greatest danger is that while it is yet alive, and theoretically thriving, it will in its interior life, its character, and values, degenerate into something that is so far from its original nature, design and intention, that it becomes a hollow mockery of its once vital life force and energy. I've concluded that those running a company get to decide many important things, but none so important as how to keep a company from degenerating. And if the managers see, by such questions, that the company has indeed wandered far from its original character and values, they resolve to make new choices that will put the company back on track to its original generosity and caring.