Rebirth of the Bodhi Garden
In 2020, The Florida School of Holistic Living home base relocated to Altamonte Springs, FL. We are no longer stewards of the Bodhi Tree Garden, but the history of our time in the garden remains alive on this page.
On the very day of its planting ten years before, our beloved Bodhi tree gracefully yielded to Hurricane Irma’s easterly winds. It was as if the tree knew the storm may break it, and laid itself gently to nap through the worst of it. We felt a twinge of shock to see its uprooted end exposed, but quickly saw the humbling gifts it gave us: the tree fell beautifully intact in a form we could preserve to replant, and it didn’t harm a plant, human, house, or the nearby businesses upon falling.
After trimming the branches and digging a deeper base for its roots, giving our lovely Ficus religiosa a stronger and safer replanting, we are reminded that when we are too much in our head and not grounded, we are more likely to fall over in life, too. The Ficus genus is known for its resilience, and that spirit is exactly what we need to embody. Sometimes what might feel like destruction at first is really just a chance to be reborn in an even better way.
Over four days of immense labor, dedicated volunteers, expensive equipment rental, hundreds of pounds of compost and mycorrhizae, gallons of chainsaw and backhoe fuel, and deep deep prayers from hundreds of visitors who came to pay their blessings and take home a Bodhi cutting, we have gotten the tree back into the soil safely in preparation for its next ten years of growth and teachings. We now have several weeks of restoration to the lawn and remaining garden space to adjust to the new levels of sunshine streaming through.
