"I felt a strong sense of transformation, rather than loss."

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. ”

— Agnes Montano, Board Secretary & Guest Caretaker

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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

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"You want to make something that speaks to hope..."

Your Friday photo is in honor of Baba’s Tree…

After high winds and the 2017 Thomas Fire toppled and destroyed Baba’s Tree at Meher Mount, the limbs and branches were salvaged for future use.

Soon after, woodworker Darrel Wilson was approached by Agnes Montano, board secretary and guest caretaker at Meher Mount, to see if he wanted to make items from the fallen wood of Baba’s Tree. The following is his answer.

This photo by Juan Mendez is of a vase made by Darrel Wilson.

“You want to make something that speaks to resilience and recovery and hope in moving forward.”

— Darrel Wilson, Woodworking Artisan

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Darrel Wilson from Tree of Fire: A Story of Love and Resilience

I think Agnes [Montano] sent me an email, if I recall. And it was an invitation to come to Meher Mount. And it just struck me as something unique and unusual, which always attracts me.

And you need to know something else. The Thomas Fire had such a profound impact on the Ojai Valley. You had people who were going to stay, stand, defend and burn up with the fire, if that's what it took.

And then you had people like myself. I walked out of my shop at 1:30 a.m. in the morning and looked at my tools, which I dearly love and said, “It's all stuff. I vote for my family. We're leaving.”

And it was all of this tension — stand and defend versus flee and come back — that was the history in front of Agnes calling me and saying, “Are you interested in making something that relates to this fire?”

Coming out of that history, you want to make something beautiful out of it. You want to make something that speaks to resilience and recovery and hope in moving forward.

~ Darrel Wilson, Woodworking Artisan & Tree of Fire Storyteller

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Tree of Fire: A Story of Love and Resilience

The story of Baba’s Tree is the journey of a seemingly ordinary oak tree blessed by the presence of the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba.

For decades, Baba’s Tree fulfilled its role of inspiring others — drawing seekers from around the world in search of inspiration, silence, joy, and solace.

Then one night Baba’s Tree is felled by fire and high winds. Its very existence is threatened. Through love and the tree’s own resilience, it is transformed by fire to emerge even more powerful in radiating Meher Baba’s love.

Click here to see the trailer for Tree of Fire.

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