Tenacity

I haven’t posted anything in a very long time. I sense that most of us are overwhelmed with messages in our inboxes, messages that – no matter how wise, illuminating, humorous, whatever – get in the way of our ability to be still, peaceful. Further, I’m not sure what I have to say is useful to anyone other than me. Thus I write but do not post. And yet . . .

This morning – a lovely, spring morning fragrant with clean, crisp energy and promise – I set out on one of my favorite walks, a trial that meanders along a winding creek full of twists and turns. Little logjams create rushing spots that dissolve into a softly flowing stream only to become wild again at the next waterfall. Magical and soothing, quieting my soul.

I’ve walked this trail a hundred times, if not more, but only this morning did I notice a beech tree holding up against great odds. Some very large tree came down in a storm, forming a vee around its trunk, putting great strain on its purchase to stay upright. And yet, there it is, there it thrives, adjusting to what has been asked of it, fortifying itself with an ever-tighter grasp by its roots on the tentative steep slope where it abides. (Those side-gripping roots were hard to catch in the light, but there are multiple ones. Note the grey/white lateral “branch”that is actually a root in the bottom right quadrant of the picture below.)

It’s a picture to keep in mind when life seems overwhelming.