Many fellow sauna enthusiasts find ourselves looking up at trees between sauna rounds.
Our eyes are attracted to trees. Often starting at the trunk of the tree and following it upwards to the branches and leaves.
Looking up at trees between sauna rounds can evoke a few things, like:
- Depth/Dimension
- Asymmetry
- Nature
Nature
We could be enjoying our sauna cool downs in a brewery parking lot, or on an island many miles from the nearest town. Or anywhere in between. But no matter where sauna may bring us, chances are, as you step outside between rounds, you will be blessed by the welcoming shadow of a nearby tree. Here we have nature, and showing us its basic, familiar form.
We could say that, as humans. we have been looking up at trees for tens of thousands of years. The familiarity is deeply rooted in our DNA, just like catching our breath after being chased by tigers – a “holy shit, that was crazy” feeling – similar to after emerging from a cold plunge. So, looking up at trees between sauna rounds helps us relax from the fight-or-flight response, our autonomic nervous system overdrive, with nature as our grounding agent.
Asymmetry
As we stare at the structure of leaves on the trees, what emerges as the tree unfolds before us is a beautiful display of asymmetry: all the branches and leaves appear completely random. And yet, as we take it all in, we smile with how comfortably beautiful and perfect the seemingly random pattern of the leaves and branches are to our senses.
Whether we consciously know it or not, most of us are always looking for balance in architecture and design. It feels good to our soul when things are weighted evenly. For trees, asymmetry is their survival strategy – An asymmetric form helps trees maximize light capture, optimize resource distribution, and prevent wind damage. For us, as we look up at trees between sauna rounds, we start to recognize a balance, a symmetry, and a beauty in seemingly random patterns. Life isn’t about structure, as sometimes we can be Fooled by Randomness.*
Perspective
As we look up at trees between sauna rounds, our eyes often focus on the negative space between the leaves and branches. We are drawn to the space between and beyond, to the depth of the skyline, which is never the same. The foreground and the background give us perspective. The near and far. The known before us and the unknown beyond. Looking up at trees between sauna rounds, we can feel its branches comfort us, like a loved one putting their arm around our shoulder.
Looking up at trees between sauna rounds can be a comforting, beautiful thing.
*”Fooled by Randomness” is a concept popularized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his book of the same name. It explores how people misinterpret random events as patterns, skill, or causation, leading to false conclusions in finance, business, and life.
2 thoughts on “Looking up at trees between rounds”
My comment stems from an unusually special sauna/cold plunge round I had at home last September 2024. It was so impactful that I was compelled to journal the experience. I wrote….
It was an unusually warm September night. Even more unusual was the sky boldly moving with patchy clouds past a nearly full moon. And then…..a rain shower came, heavy and quick. To be outside in the rain, under the trees, naked and hot form the sauna is glorious. After one plunge I relaxed under those trees. The night is loud with silence up here in the north woods. But after the rain I was treated to a symphony of THWAP TUD TUD THWAP TUD. Water drops off th eleaves…hitting other leaves and the ground. New rain drops hitting the leaves with a crescendo of THWAPS when a breeze came by. The whole experience left me at peace & grateful.
Beautiful. Thank you Laurie.