Lessons in Resilience
I love redwood trees.
I’m grateful to live in northern California with several old growth redwood forests nearby.
Redwoods are beautiful and awe-inspiring – the tallest living things on earth.
And they are incredibly resilient, which you’d have to be to live hundreds, even thousands of years.
Redwoods can teach us a lot about resilience.
Here are four lessons:
Expect challenges. Walking through an old growth redwood forest, you’ll see many ancient trees that show signs of previous fires. Redwoods have developed resilience to fire - some studies suggest fire can even make redwood forests stronger and healthier. Likewise, if we expect challenges in life, we won’t be so thrown off balance when they inevitably come.
Don’t sweat the small stuff. Redwoods are resistant to insects – their bark is thick and naturally repellent to insects. Most of us could benefit from developing a thicker skin and not letting unimportant things bother us.
Power in community. Redwoods are the tallest living beings on earth, however they actually have very shallow roots. A tree hundreds of feet tall might have roots just ten feet deep. But their roots spread out widely around them and intertwine with the neighboring trees. This interwoven web of roots allows the trees to sway in the wind without falling over. We also can benefit from having a strong community with intertwined roots to help us withstand the winds of life.
Use what’s available. Redwoods survive through the long dry season in northern California by drinking fog. Can you imagine? These immense trees make the most of what is available.
Those are just a few of the many lessons we can learn from these beautiful, gentle giants.
I hope and pray the redwood trees will be able to adapt and survive as our climate in northern California continues to become hotter and drier, and I hope and pray we humans will be able to respond to the climate crisis before it’s too late.
As our world keeps changing and requires more of us, we can learn from the redwoods to be more resilient in order to take care of ourselves and our loved ones and contribute in whatever ways we feel called.
Please take good care of your precious self. Our world needs your heart centered gifts.
Hugs,
Liz
