The Hidden Life of Trees
#lifelessons #quoteoftheday #thehiddenlifeoftrees #network #peterwohlleben #community
What The Trees Can Teach Us (and lessons from the forest floor)
Last Christmas, I was curled up in my parents’ living room in Southern California, reading The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. I looked at the fir tree in the corner—decked out in lights and ornaments—and said half-joking: “Tree, even vegetarians can’t win. Turns out plants have feelings.”
Peter Wohlleben’s book opened a window into a world I didn’t know existed: the inner life of forests. Trees, it turns out, are not the stoic loners we might imagine and more like the capable neighbors we’d want around in a blackout. They’re part of a deeply connected community—one that communicates, cooperates, and even cares.
Beneath the forest floor, trees are linked through vast underground root systems. Many of these connections are supported by fungi called mycorrhizae, which act as a network—passing water, nutrients, and chemical messages in their forest community. Scientists have given this network a name: wood wide web (yep, that’s the term).
Through this underground network, trees share both resources and information. If one is attacked by pests, it can send out distress signals to its neighbors so they can prepare with chemical defenses. If a young tree is struggling in the shade, older, more established trees might send through some of their sugars to help it along. And when a tree is dying, it slowly releases its nutrients back into the network—a final, generous offering to the forest it leaves behind.
It’s not a ruthless competition for survival. It’s more like a thoughtful collaboration. Trees that grow together tend to be healthier and live longer than ones standing alone. They look out for each other—sharing resources, caring for each other through storms, and even syncing up their growth cycles so everyone has a better shot at thriving.
There’s something surprisingly human and touching about this hidden world. It reminds us that connection is essential. It’s easy to measure strength by independence or personal achievement. Often, though, real strength reveals itself in how we show up for each other—in the ways we commit to relationships where honesty, shared experience, and collaboration help us grow. The whole “rising tide lifts all boats” thing? It works.
At the end of the day, it’s not just about what we build, but who we’re building it with.
San Francisco over the weekend. Photos from our walk last night :) Nothing fancy, but I liked the trees.
