Στην Καλιφόρνια, λίγες ημέρες μετά το Σιάτλ, η Τζούλια Μπάτερφλαϊ Χιλ κατέβηκε από μια σεκόγια εξαντλημένη αλλά ευτυχισμένη: το δέντρο που είχε ζωή χιλίων ετών μαζί με τα άλλα δέντρα ενός αιωνόβιου δάσους δεν θα κοβόταν από την εταιρεία Pacific Maxam. Η Τζούλια, μια τυπική Αμερικανίδα 25 ετών, κέρδισε τη μάχη της ζώντας επί δύο χρόνια σε μια εξέδρα 60 μέτρα πάνω από το έδαφος. Δύο χρόνια άντεξε στο κρύο, στην πείνα και στην 24ωρη πολιορκία των ιδιωτικών αστυνομικών της εταιρείας.

For 738 days Julia Butterfly Hill lived in the canopy of an ancient redwood tree, called Luna, to help make the world aware of the plight of ancient forests. Her courageous act of civil disobedience gained international attention for the redwoods as well as other environmental and social justice issues and is chronicled in her book The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods. Julia, with the great help of steelworkers and environmentalists, successfully negotiated to permanently protect the 1,000 year-old tree and a nearly three- acre buffer zone. Her two-year vigil informed the public that only 3% of the ancient redwood forests remain and that the Headwaters Forest Agreement, brokered by state and federal agencies and Pacific Lumber/Maxxam Corporation, will not adequately protect forests and species.
On December 18, 1999 Julia Butterfly Hill, then 26, came down to a world that recognized her as a heroine and powerful voice for the environment. Her courage, commitment and profound clarity in articulating a message of hope, empowerment, and love and respect for all life has inspired millions of people worldwide.“By standing together in unity, solidarity and love we will heal the wounds in the earth and in each other. We can make a positive difference through our actions». Julia Hill chose the name Butterfly while in her childhood years and like her namesake she has undergone a great metamorphosis. She grew up in a deeply religious family as the daughter of a traveling, evangelical minister that later settled in Arkansas. In 1996 she suffered nearly fatal injuries in an auto accident. During close to a year of medical treatment and recovery, she had time to reassess her purpose in life. Two weeks after being released by her doctors, she headed west on a journey of self-discovery. She had no particular destination, but her first sight of the ancient redwoods overwhelmed her with awe.
“When I entered the majestic cathedral of the redwood forest for the first time, my spirit knew it had found what it was searching for. I dropped to my knees and began to cry because I was so overwhelmed by the wisdom, energy and spirituality housed in this holiest of temples»
»I changed while in Luna, but it was through understanding myself. The experience gave me an unshakable belief in the interconnection of life, because the only way I could survive was to become one with the tree, to merge with it, to absorb it and have it absorb me. The trees and storms taught me. In my struggle to say I was something separate from the storms I was going out of my mind. I heard the trees say, “Julia, we become one with the storms. We don’t fight them.” The trees and the branches that fight the storms are the ones that break off. The ones that make it through are the ones that just give in and flail and bend and do whatever they have to do to become one with the storm.For me, part of getting to know Luna involved getting to know myself as Luna and Luna as me. There is no separation. Once I understood this, I changed dramatically.People say, “We hear you talk about prayer all the time. Who or what do you pray to?” I pray to what I call the Universal Spirit. That’s one of the ways I have of describing it. There’s also the Greater Self and the Consciousness of Oneness. These titles denote the same thing for me.

When I pray I put it out to the Greater Self, of which the individual is an integral part. There is no time, space or separation. Some people respond and I’m grateful for the opportunity to mirror the wisdom we already know. It’s been said before, but I say it through the lens of my experiences and style. This awareness is universal. It was the forest that helped open the pathway back into my deep self through Luna. For others, something else will provide this opening. I am sometimes greeted with violent responses, verbal, energetic or physical, when I talk about what I discovered about myself, and all of us, while in Luna. Opening a pathway into consciousness can be frightening, especially if you don’t know it’s closed. When it’s brought to your attention, it’s a shock. It was for me with my experience in the Redwoods. When I first entered the forest, I became conscious of an essential piece of my being that had been hidden underneath religion, society, even my concepts of who I am. These blockages began to dissolve as my tears fell onto the forest floor. I sobbed because the beauty around me reminded me of the forgotten beauty within. I could not have explained it at the time. Later I realized the heart hurts when it grows. My naiveté washed away as I began to see something unexpected within my center in the middle of the woods. Before climbing into Luna I didn’t know I had reason to look for anything, but I had a vague sense I needed to find purpose for why I’m here on Earth. I knew I needed my purpose and my essence. I compare it to the caterpillar. It feels compelled to spin into a cocoon. It doesn’t have a teacher showing it how, or telling it what’s going to happen. It just has this innate knowing. That was the intensity of my tree sit. It immersed me in the innermost depth of my being. That’s why I say I don’t see something other than me when I look at Luna or anything else. I see another face of the divine, of which each of us is a part –one of many facets reflecting the One Self back to the other.
For me, one of the most beautiful results of one’s journey is that it shines out to others, like a beacon. When we go all the way through the transformational process and integrate the changes, so they are alive within us, we become not only a guide but also a catalyst for other people who are at critical points in their transformation. As one of us transforms we activate transformational energies in others, which enables them to more readily reconnect with the wisdom of their innate creative source. I could not have stayed in the tree for 738 days if my focus had been on destroying the loggers—which it was in the beginning because I was so hurt by what was happening. When an animal is hurt or afraid it’s instinctual response is to strike out or to run. I went through both of those reactions. Later, I woke up and asked, “How can I offer my life today?” I also asked myself questions like, “Am I more effective in the tree or on the ground?” By these means, I brought my emotions, spirit and mental processes together. The root word for courage is the Latin word “cor,” which means heart. That’s where true courage comes from. It is the heart that motivates our greatest acts of courage and kindness. Courage is not an act of bravado. It has nothing to do with ego or adrenaline. It has to do with falling in love, and having the courage to give over fully to it. I learned this in the tree after I said, “Okay teach me this lesson; allow me to love.”
I almost gave up and came down. Then I prayed and said, “If I’m going to be able to do this, I have to find another way. I’m willing to surrender, but teach me how to love.” Then it was one hardship after another. I prayed, “Would you please give me strength. I need strength.” Then, I’d get another hardship. What kind of karma am I working off, I wondered. Finally, this understanding came: Julia, do you get muscles by doing nothing? No. Strength is not something that can be handed to you. You asked for strength, I’m giving you the tools you need to become strong.
My prayer is that I may be an open heart. When I become angry at what we’re doing, I take it in and say, “Okay, anger through love becomes fierce compassion.” Anger is a powerful energy and I’m all for using energy, whatever form it comes in, but using it for the good. When at first I got stressed out in the tree, I’d take a deep breath in and say, “Stress in and stress out.” I don’t want to lose the passion of anger. It’s a vital life force. Later I changed that practice and said, “Stress in, love out,” with each breath. Because anger through love becomes fierce compassion, I make use of the energy. I still have passion, but I can look at someone who threatens to kill me, and my heart melts. I see their injury makes them act that way. It helps me transform difficult situations. I came down from the tree and saw how many people of consciousness shop at these wonderful Eco-friendly cooperatives. Then they order a coffee in a to-go cup. I can’t stand it. I look at what a disposable world we live in. I see in that cup a tree, and I see in the plastic lid an indigenous culture somewhere being pushed into genocide from oil drilling, and I see the destructive drilling in Alaska. People say, “No drilling in Alaska, no drilling in Alaska”, and then they have their food in a Styrofoam container and their non-shade, non-organic, non-cooperatively farmed coffee in a paper cup with a plastic lid.Courage in daily life means you become an embodiment of what you know to be true. It’s not enough to know it. We have to be it in every moment. If we can’t do that, then we aren’t transformed. Words are great, but if they do not manifest as compassionate action, they are hollow. A lot of my zest comes in the doing regardless of the outcome.

Julia’s brave and inspiring action brought international attention to the plight of our dwindling ancient redwoods. For many years after she returned to the ground, Julia toured the world speaking abour her experience in the media and to audiences large and small and about the many lessons she learned. She wrote a bestselling book, The Legacy of Luna, which is available in 11 languages, followed by her environmental «handbook», One Makes the Difference. Her story has inspired millions around the globe to take action in their own communities. Julia is a co-founder of the Engage Network and is the inspiration behind What’s Your Tree.”