Quite a fews years back one of the trees in our yard got sick. We, as people who are quite fond of our trees, called some people from the forest preserve to come take a look. The conclusion they came to was that, unfortunately, it was in our best interest to cut the tree down as it was in bad shape and there was a chance the disease could spread to other trees in the yard.
We decided to leave the stump. We left it for two reasons. First, because we were fond of that tree and wanted to leave the stump as a memento, and second because it was still a valuable part of the ecosystem that is our backyard, and even a decaying stump can provide necessary nutrients to the soil and a habitat for burrowing animals. Cut to the following spring and we notice a branch shooting off from the now dead stump. A small branch, but alive and desperately clinging to that life as it went. We decided to leave it, to let nature do as it saw fit. As the branch grew in height and thickness we again consulted forestry experts for advice. They again advised us to cut the branch as they believed it would eventually break off, seeing as it was anchored to the ground by nothing but a dead, decaying stump.
But I had been watching this little branch grow, and it wasn't just growing upwards towards the sun, or outwards in thickness. It was growing down into the soil, presumably to form a new, functional and living root system. I argued vehemently against cutting the branch and so we decided to let it grow, to trust nature to know what she's doing.
5+ years later, that small little branch is now a not so small little tree, the trunk of which has partially absorbed the old dead stump that came before. It is firmly rooted and thriving, all because we trusted that little tree to know what was best for it. We gave it the time and space it needed to heal, and now we have a new and beautiful tree where one we had an old decaying tribute to a tree that had died.
Whenever I feel hopeless, whenever I feel cut down and left for dead, I remember that tiny little branch peeking out from that old stump. I think about how hard it struggled, with no foundation and no support, to become the tree it is today. If that little branch could persevere, could become a tree when even the experts were saying it wouldn't, then I can become who I am meant to be, if I just give myself the time.
Whoever you are reading this, wherever you are in your journey, I hope you remember my tree. I hope you can find meaning in her story as I have, and can continue to live to become who you were meant to be.
