"I felt a strong sense of transformation, rather than loss."
Meher Mount
Your Friday photo...
This photo of a mirror, framed in the fallen wood from Baba’s Tree, was taken by Agnes Montano, board secretary and guest caretaker at Meher Mount.
The mirror is reflecting the tree leaves overhead as it is perched on a bench, made from Baba’s Tree wood, next to the Darshan Courtyard at Meher Mount.
“As I reflected on the framed mirror sitting on this bench — both made from Baba’s Tree Wood reclaimed after the 2017 Thomas Fire — I felt the strong sense of transformation, rather than loss. ”
Photographer Agnes Montano Shares Her Impressions:
As I reflected on the framed mirror sitting on this bench — both made from Baba’s Tree Wood reclaimed after the 2017 Thomas Fire — I felt the strong sense of transformation, rather than loss.
The wood tells a story — it has been through fire and can still bring forth beauty, life, and a reminder of the Divine.
The frame, made by Ryan Lang, an Ojai-Based woodworker, is visibly connected to the suffering Baba’s Tree endured when it was engulfed in flames. Yet, the wood has been given another life. Just like the individual soul that evolves through individual acts, Baba’s Tree has evolved to new capacities and contexts.
The little metal leaf in the upper-left corner of the frame serves as a small reminder of the living tree from which the wood came. In the mirror, the incredibly vibrant reflection of green leaves of another Coastal live oak are reflected against an intensely blue sky.
There is something deeply moving about this image, a sense of resilience, renewal, and the continuing cycle of life.
The cracks and burnt areas in the bench also show that this is not ordinary reclaimed wood. The scars are part of its beauty. They tell us that this wood has experienced something profound and carries a story with it.
Behind the mirror and bench, the flagstones of the Darshan Courtyard add a quiet sense of solemnity and reverence.
Together, the natural elements, stone, wood, tree, and sky, reflect the profound love, peace and deep connection to nature that Avatar Meher Baba shared when He sanctified Meher Mount with His visit on August 2, 1956.
~Agnes Montano, Board Secretary & Guest Caretaker