Lessons from the Tree of Life

This old tree, that I call the tree of life, is on the loop I ride in the French Broad Valley in North Carolina. Study it for a minute and you will see the place on the right where the tree was broken and fell about a foot from the ground. No doubt that happened many years ago and it was left to die and disintegrate in the pasture. Instead, the trunk that was so grievously injured has given life and strength to eight limbs. They have grown to great height and fullness.

Every time I cycle by I think of the life events that bring us down and the amazing opportunities we have to grow from them and to achieve unimagined stature because of, not in spite of, the setbacks and losses that occur across our personal and professional lifespan. Failed relationships, job layoffs or changes, illness, unexpected and unfathomable deaths. May this beautiful symbol of nature's redemptive powers remind us that we, too, can be successful opportunists and overcomers.