Erica Martena Murphy
Tree of Love
Jan Bubbenmoyer believes that no one can “out love” the heart of a women. Through their compassion and nurturing tendencies, women have the ability to save the world and the people in it. But first, Bubbenmoyer believes that women must help themselves and find love in their own lives before they can share love with the rest of humanity.
Inspired by Mother Teresa of Calcutta and St. Francis of Assisi, The Tree of Love takes women on a methodical journey to change the world. Bubbenmoyer says that The Tree of Love is more than just a plan: it’s a philosophy and will soon be incorperated into everyone’s daily lives.
It starts with a simple list. Write down the names of friends and family, neighbors and acquaintances, anyone who might need your company. Then narrow the list down and pick a few people to reach out too. Helping those closest to you will make you feel good about yourself and give you that little bit of fuel to light the loving fire.
Now Bubbenmoyer wants you to make those branches grow. Host a party, invite five of your friends, and explain to them what the project’s all about. By sharing your experiences with making a list and acting on it, you can inspire your friends to do the same. You have to be there as a guiding light for the small tree that you created. If each of your five friends joins the project and has a party of their own, in 10 years 48 million women will be part of the Tree of Love. That means we will have made a difference in the lives of over 240 million people in one year.
But Bubbenmoyer says that helping doesn’t just mean donating money or clothes or food. Poverty includes more than just the tangible. Bubbenmoyer thinks that loneliness is the most forgotten form of poverty. It just takes a short visit or a phone call to affect a poor person’s body and soul.
The Tree of Love is as much a novel as it is a plea for women to help. Bubbenmoyer is not asking you to focus on numbers. But she does ask that you make a conscious effort to share your love with someone else. Love can come through a smile, by saying grace, or by donating that extra cash you have lying around. By shedding the material excess in your life, you can bring joy to the lives of others. “Woman is the heart of the home. Let us pray that we realize the reason for our existence; to love and be loved through this love, become instruments of peace in the world.” Mother Teresa
About the Author
Jane Bubbenmoyer has been in the creative field for thirty-five years. She lives with her husband Kevin and their dogs at Monterre Vineyards in the mountains of Northeast Pennsylvania. One night in the middle of writing a book on humorous and serious aspects of live, Bubbenmoyer picked up Mother Teresa’s In the Heart of the World, read a few passages, and began to cry. She was affected by her words in a way she had never been before. The next day, she sat down and wrote The Tree of Love as a messenger. This was her call to love and her chance to change the world. She hopes that other women want to be a part of this project just as much as she does.