The Trees Of Life
Plus, teen nostalgia, California travel and sneaky greens.
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An hour’s drive outside Palm Springs and we arrive in the Mojave desert: a dusty, arid tundra that meets the bright blue sky. Sprinkled throughout are the National Park’s main attraction—Joshua trees. The Insta-famous plant is quirky for its craggily shape; branches that twist in odd directions, with fuzzy green tips. I learn from my Tallgrass Tours guide Nancy, that the tree gets its shape from past trauma—when the wind or the occasional snowfall causes a fissure, a bud forms, resulting in a new branch. A completely unharmed Joshua tree is one body that grows straight upward to the sky, with no separate branches. But looking out at the desert, I spot only a couple Joshua trees that take the form of a single body without branches.
What a beautiful metaphor for life, I think. Like people, few Joshua trees make it through life without at least one trauma that forces a new branch to grow. It’s the various breaks throughout its life that gives the tree its distinctive shape.
A few weeks later and several hours north, I’m surrounded by a very different kind of tree—the Redwoods. An hour’s drive outside San Francisco and I’m immersed in the Redwoods: a damp, remarkably still forest home to some of the tallest trees on the planet. “Look at the trauma this tree has endured, what an amazing contrast of life and death,” our Canyon Ranch hiking guide Tim says as we marvel at the thick trunk of a Redwood.
Like the Joshua trees, it’s the trauma that prompts innovation and growth. The difference here, is it happens on a much larger scale—instead of a branch breaking, it’s the entire tree that falls down, and instead of a new branch forming from the open wound, it’s a new tree that grows. The result is what they call “fairy rings”: a cluster of trees that share the same roots.
Another beautiful metaphor for life, I think. The fairy rings are like families—they are born from the same DNA and grow together in a circle. Like the Joshua trees, it’s the trauma that makes each fairy ring unique, and it’s their ability to adapt to change that enables them to survive and endure—for as long as thousands of years in the case of the Redwoods.
It can be easy, especially for those of us who live in cities, to lose touch with the earth. But if there was anything that forced us to reconnect with our roots, it was the pandemic. When we felt that our world had come to a halt, one thing kept spinning—the Earth. The seasons came just the same, the ants kept crawling undeterred, the tide rolled in and out, the flowers bloomed once the winter thawed. We think we’re so important, but I’m continuously awestruck by the intelligence and complexities of mother Earth, she knows exactly how to survive and thrive. It’s only when we intervene that she loses her brilliance.
My first day back home, I’m drawn, again, to the trees for emotional guidance. I pay a visit to the city tree I had planted in honor of my mom. About a year ago, a bizarre fungus had taken over the tree, it struggled to grow, its branches became a confusing sight of both dead leaves and new blooms. A few months later, the tree disappeared completely, the city had removed it. Over the years, I’ve come to interpret the state of this tree as a symbol of how I’m doing. When the tree was removed, I hit my rock bottom. Today, the tree is back. But this time, it’s fastened to string tied to two wooden poles for support.
As we shed our winter layers and look ahead to the warmer months, I invite you to pause and notice nature. Even if it’s something as small as observing the way your windowsill plant leans toward the sun. When you feel you’ve lost your will, there is a story of perseverance and survival right outside your door.
Best,
Anna
Published 📝
AFAR - In Downtown Los Angeles, Beautiful Art Deco Buildings Are Being Reborn as Hip Hotels
When you think of travelling to L.A., downtown is probably not the first neighborhood to come to mind. But nearly a century ago, in the roaring twenties, downtown L.A. (DTLA) was once the hangout spot of choice for Southern Californian creatives. Over the past decade, DTLA has been slowly re-emerging as a destination in its own right, spearheaded in large part by hotels.
The Downtown L.A. Proper occupies a former YWCA and you can still see experience its athletic history with its two presidential suites occupying former recreational facilities—one even has a full swimming pool in the living room. Hotel Figueroa similarly honors its history as a YWCA, but with a feminist slant: much of the design—from the onsite gallery to the in-room amenities—amplify creative female Angelenos. Even Apple is investing in DTLA, their new flagship store is set in the 1927 Tower Theatre.
This story went through many rounds of edits before being published. It was a lot of work but totally worth it—the history nerd in me loved transporting to another time.
Forbes - Your Wellness Guide to Palm Springs
Coachella started last weekend, but Palm Springs has so much more to offer, with its balmy spring temperatures and seemingly constant clear skies. From Joshua Tree National Park to rooftop yoga to the countless hiking trails accessible from the city—outdoor activities abound. While unsuspecting, casual strip mall restaurants dish up fresh, inventive vegetarian. Accommodations range from vintage Hollywood hideaways like Villa Royale to spacious, wellness resorts like La Quinta Resort & Club. Wellness seekers will also love the private retreat experiences hosted by Island Tribe Wellness. Regardless of your agenda, my guide provides some of the city’s best wellness offerings.
Reading 📖
🌴 Coachella is back, it’s the latest example of our current vibe shift.
🏡 I was shocked by the state of the homeless in California, where one in four of the country’s 500,000 homeless live.
🏔 Disabled hikers deserve better trails.
✈️ And more inclusive travel experiences.
🚗 The toll of the tar sands on Canada’s Indigenous communities.
💻 Contemplating the shaming-industrial complex and cancel culture.
“The primary drivers of online scandals are not isolated cyberbullies, but machine-learning algorithms that optimize for traffic. The more divisive a meme or a story, the more engagement it generates; the more engagement it generates, the more time it induces people to waste feuding online; the more time people waste feuding online, the more they reveal about their browsing habits; and the more they reveal about their browsing habits, the more precisely they can be targeted by advertisers.” - Becca Rothfeld.
🙅🏻♀️ Why holding a grudge is so satisfying.
👤 How loneliness is harming us.
👭 The older we get, the more we need our friends and the harder it is to keep them.
“One could argue that modern life conspires against friendship, even as it requires the bonds of friendship all the more,” Jennifer Senior.
👬 Why friendship is the one part of your life you should optimize post-pandemic.
Watching 📺
I’m finally catching up on the second season of Euphoria, and I have to say it lives up to the hype. It’s beautifully shot, and a perfect example of how visuals and sound and superb acting can work together to reach intense emotional heights. Sometimes I wonder if the narrative is living up to its pretty package this season, but I’m still enjoying it regardless. If that makes me a typical millennial, then so be it.
“Euphoria does have the evergreen appeal of the unrealistic teen soap, operating in the lane of the original Gossip Girl, Degrassi, Skins, Home and Away, One Tree Hill and The OC – shows depicting high schoolers played by hot twenty-something actors on an inherently ridiculous merry-go-round of drama.
Euphoria shares many of the same tropes – a blonde v brunette love triangle, absent parents, etc – dressed up with enough expensive cinematography, fine acting, HBO budget and Dare-invoking material to merit serious critical discussion (and recaps on TikTok).
Though it is HBO’s youngest-skewing show, Euphoria is best understood as a millennial’s revisionist fantasy of their own proto-social media high school days, if the current digital hellscape was our teenage playground.” - writes Adrian Horton.
Listening 🎧
While we’re on the teen pop culture spree, I must confess I’ve been devouring Olivia Rodrigo’s album Sour ever since seeing her perform “driver’s license” at the Grammy’s a couple weeks back. Like Euphoria, at first glance, it’s music for teens, with angsty lyrics mostly directed towards Rodrigo’s unrequited love interests, but after a few listens I’m convinced her vocal talent and emotional gravitas can be appreciated by adults too. “Jealousy, jealousy” and “deja vu” make great walking on a sunny day soundtracks, while “traitor” and “happier” are just as heartfelt as “driver’s license” as songs to belt to after a break-up (or simply when you’re having a bad day).
Snacking 🍌
Did you know California’s Central Coast is considered the “Salad Bowl of the World”? I’m seriously missing all the fresh produce the state has to offer. Still, I’m finding my veggies in unsuspecting places—many food brands are sneaking them into their products, and I can’t complain. My favorite secretly green eats? A “perfect” protein bar, chocolate peanut butter cups, banana chocolate chip muffins and a savory green curry rice dish.
Well Written, Beautiful Metaphors for Life.