Decay

Trees live and die differently than humans do. Often their lives are longer than ours, assuming they are left alone by people and are lucky with natural disasters. It's also true that they die more slowly than humans.

 Something caused this trunk to crack and decay. The tree has been working for some time to heal that injury. The normal growth of the tree has been interrupted by the need to address this slow-moving emergency.

 My guess is the wound will ultimately kill this tree, but before that it may have years of life. As we learn more about the lives of trees, that complex interdependent system may become clearer.

And what about people? On one level, we start dying the day we're born. And, like a tree, I can work on healing myself – physically, spiritually, emotionally - even in the face of an inevitable demise.