The story of Curamora

The name Curamora is inspired by two trees who provided me a lot of guidance and support in difficult times throughout my journey. One of the trees is named Cura, and the other tree is named Amora. In portuguese 'cura' means healing, 'amor' means love, and 'amora' means blackberry. A combination of these words born Curamora, which the name signifies "healing with love".

I met Cura and Amora one day while walking the woods closeby my house in The Hague. While walking I spotted Cura. She is a tree that was cut down for some reason in the past and is in her process of rebirth. New shoots are blossoming out of the stump to become a fully strong trunk once again. She is still the same tree, surviving her near death experience. Her roots carry her wisdom, her life, her consciousness, which still lives and grows.

I believe Amora has helped her in regenerating. They both are sycamore maple trees, living just two metres apart from one another. I have recently learnt how trees have their own families and kin, sprouting from their seeds that fall closeby or far away with the help of the wind and animals. All seedlings, saplings and mature trees we see from the same tree species closeby are family. They take close care of one another by sharing nutrients and water when needed. They are connected through their roots with the aid of mycelium, a network of fungus that connects all trees and plants, making up what we call the "wood wide web". Trees communicate and support each other via this network. In a relationship of reciprocity with the fungi, trees share their sugars while gaining nutrients and wide web connections to other trees through the fungi. A relationship of mutual exchange where each element is willing to support and meet the needs of the other.

I share this because this is the story of why Cura and Amora captivated me. I was learning about the life of trees and when I saw them, it was clear to me that their relationship was supporting Cura's rebirth. Amora must have shared nutrients and water, giving her the life force she needed to grow new shoots and stems without leaves or photosynthesis. Today, Cura is growing healthy and steadily, and one day she will become that tall tree again.

Since I have met them, they have become my companions, my new non-human friends of which I love and respect so much. They have welcomed me to their home, have listened to me in moments of sorrow and sang with me in moments of joy. I thank them with love in my heart for all the love they share back to me.

I invite you to also seek your own nature friend. This can be a tree, a bush, a stone, a lake, or any other nature being you feel connected to. They are all our friends, cheering for us, and they will be happy to hear from you.

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Book recommendations:

• The Secret Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

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• Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simmard