Nearing the end of my walk, I encountered two
Bradford pear trees side-by-side, and what I saw in them ties into the message from last week’s email. If you missed it, you can read it here. Each tree had endured the same high-powered wind. One lost almost all of its flowers, and the other one still had a lot
left. Why?
A tornado destroys one home and another is untouched. One block loses power and the homes across the street still have electricity. Why?
When we face adversity and it hits us harder than our neighbor, "why" is not the right question. However, the answer is always to give thanks that things weren’t worse and take the next right action, looking ahead to what’s next.
It doesn’t mean we don’t have feelings about what happened. We’re human, so of course we do and it’s important to name them, and feel them. But we must view our challenges while keeping a perspective of the greater picture, and not lose sight of what wasn’t damaged,
and what we didn’t lose—what we do have to look forward to.
Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.
~ Will Rogers
In the case of the two
trees, I’m thankful that the tree who lost most of its flowers stood firm, and wasn’t blown over or split in half. It could have caused damage to the houses on either side, but it didn’t.
The two trees standing side by
side can easily represent one of us standing next to someone who got the longer end of the stick in a situation we both encountered. It would be hard to not start comparing, asking “why me,” and throwing a pity party.
Is
the tree that lost most of her buds going to sit and sulk now, comparing herself to the other tree, dwelling on the injustice of it all? Will she refuse to move on with what’s supposed to come next—continuing to release her glorious green leaves that will last until fall? Of course not.
Nature shows us what to do. We accept and move on. We celebrate what is good now and we welcome the next season. Even though she looks a bit raggedy from the outside, she is healthy and flourishing on the inside. Vibrant green leaves will soon fill every branch.
Despite how she may look to everyone else, she is thriving. Those blooms were temporary and she has the capacity to make more next year. Everything that really matters is intact. Even with this minor setback, she retains all of her gifts and remembers that she is still uniquely her—no worse or better than her neighbor, regardless of what current circumstances might suggest.
As we mentioned last week, "compare and despair" leads nowhere. Embrace all the blessings of today and do the best you can with what you have to work with. Concentrate your energy on moving forward, because lingering in the
past is a dead end.
It’s okay to look at the past. Just don’t stare.
~Benjamin Dover
Like the cloud metaphor last week, we see whatever we choose to give our attention. We can focus on what is going well, or be anxious about what’s not moving in the direction we want it to. We always have a
choice.
When you can be the person who finds the gift in most situations, you will never lack for good company. People love an encourager.
Today, may you wake up to the awareness of all that is working well, and all the resources you are blessed with to continue creating an abundant life, internally and externally. May you also be the bearer of hope to your neighbor.
