#50DaysOfShades Day 97 of 50 – Growth happens -

I noticed this tree while on a walk 3 years ago (and took a photo) and marvelled at how it was growing.

It had reached an obstacle, the iron fence, and had grown around it, through it, over it, embracing it, literally absorbing it.

You can see the gnarly protrusions and scars where the bars have made the trunk take a different route, the years of persistence the not giving in it continued to grow.

And here we are 3 years later, the same spot, the same tree, the same fence. But if you look closely, it’s not the same tree, it’s not the same fence that you can see.

There is more tree and less fence. Some of the scars are almost healed with the bars barely visible anymore.

Growth happens whether you like it or not.

On the good days when we do everything right we grow in skill, knowledge, confidence, we improve our fitness and health. We grow up, we grow out.

And on the bad days, when we avoid things the doubt grows, when we get rejected or make mistakes the fears and the pain grow.
How we deal with this is what matters.

It is on (or usually just after) these days that we can (my suggestion is we need to) make the choice to work through them, Embrace them, Absorb them, learn from them, gain strength from them. Be like the tree own the growth.

Know your scars and know they may be tender at times but they will heal and you will come out the other side. Be able to look at them, recognise them and know you overcame something before and can do it again.