I Will Stand…

The photo does not look like much, but to me, a statement is being made. This burnt to the ground old, razed tree stump has the audacity to still stand. It started from just a little sapling and developed to be a fully mature, robust conifer. After years of blistering heat, raging winds, and a tumultuous drought instigating the demise of an once evergreen, the inevitable transpired; this was all it could bear before being disassembled literally limb by limb. At best, there are two feet remaining of what once was roughly a ninety-foot pine. Yes, I know it is hard to believe. This was one of three pine trees I so gleefully owned, and I relished the fact the raking time was reduced by a third…got to love my humor!

Enough about this tree, the attraction is not the tree but the parallel it makes to people. People who have experienced more than their share of lives’ atrocities by any human account. Amid it all, they still stand. This potency reminds me of one of my poems, “I Will Stand.” There is a segment that says, “…do not let people’s words shape yourself. Know who you are and stand.”

Regardless of ferociousness of the wind, you will stand. Even when all burns down around you, stand anyways. Nothing remaining other than your base, recognize what you have and stand. Undaunted about past conditions, your present state is still an opportunity to exemplify your tenacity and ability to move beyond recoup and towards transformation and wellness. When all comes down around you, know this is not the end. Life goes on, and there are still greener days ahead.

Photo credits: KcLove