By Barry Farber-Diamond Minds
I’m hooked on the natural world and the infinite amount of wisdom that’s built into nature. We only skim the surface when trying to understand the symbiotic relationships that occur all around us. For example, there is a species of acacia tree on the African Savannah called the umbrella thorn acacia. The giraffes were feeding on them, and the trees didn’t like it one bit, so they sent out a toxic substance into their leaves to rid themselves of these giraffes and the threat. But that’s not what surprised me when reading this in The Hidden Life of Trees… What They Feel, How They Communicate by Peter Wohlleben. The acacia trees actually release a warning gas (ethylene) as a signal to neighboring acacia trees of the same species that there is a threat at hand. It reached them up to 100 yards away where the giraffes passed all the trees knowing that the rest of them also released a toxic substance into their leaves. What’s really happening here? Do trees communicate underground through various systems of roots and connections? Is that the “Wood Wide Web”? The communication that goes on under our feet and all around us is something to marvel at.
This month I had the privilege to interview Cristina Zenato who is a professional cave diver and shark diver with over 25,000 dives. When I found out that she actually puts her hand in the mouths of sharks underwater to remove hooks because they brushed up against her, I was just blown away. She told me that there’s a whole different level of communication going on down there, and she has removed over 300 hooks from a variety of the sharks that come to her because they’re aware that she is the shark lady who takes the hooks out. When I asked her about fear and if she had any doing this, she told me that her preparation, passion, and love for these animals diminished the fear. I also started thinking about the crazy people who think that shark fins are going to cure cancer so they leave the shark’s full body with their fins cut off stretched across the shoreline. We’ve been inundated with movies and media that portray sharks as the most dangerous predators on the planet. If you’d like to see the full interview, check out Diamond Minds on Brinx.TV this month. Her message will take your breath away and leave you in awe of the natural world and what we can learn from it.
I still wonder as I walk through my yard and see two healthy trees surrounding one that is losing its leaves and can’t help to wonder if both of those trees are trying to help that one tree by delivering much-needed water or nutrients to save their partner. Symbiotic relationships exist in nature and are something we can learn a lot from while working with our peers in all different scenarios. As the old saying goes… you can get almost anything you want by helping others get what they want… and as William Danforth (founder of Ralston Purina) had said, “Catch a passion for helping others and a richer life will come back to you.”
BARRY FARBER is a best-selling author, an award-winning radio and television host as well as an agent and marketing consultant for corporations, professional athletes, and entertainers. He’s also the creator and marketer of the FoldzFlat® Pens. His latest release is an inspirational children’s book “In Search of the Magic Tree”, available at www.barryfarber.com. Tune into his new TV Show, Diamond Minds, now on Brinx.tv and follow him: @barryfarberofficial.