37.
1. Bark of the body
‘One of the key characteristics of a tree is the woody bark surrounding the trunk and branches. However, only the outer layers of this are alive, with a vascular system of cells called the cambium being responsible for the production of new bark. The inner layer of bark, known as the phloem, is briefly tasked with delivering nutrients throughout the tree, before rapidly turning into cork.’
You always believed the workings of the body to be an exacting science. If you take the prescribed tablets, follow the physiotherapy, modify your behaviour, your body will respond with recovery. And so you work your body hard with daily exercises, you avoid lifting, you avoid standing still, you avoid long walks, you take the small blue pills and the large white ones, you always sit with cushions, you never arch your back. Your mind is determined on the logic that treatment = health. So of course your mind is outraged when the logical doesn’t materialise, and it begins to tell you every day that you are broken.
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Next week: Part 2: Roots of the mind
(Tree quote sources from Resource Library at International Timber)
Sally Gander 