The Lesson I Learned from a Fallen Tree This Week
Last week, while walking the trails behind my home, I came across a tree that had fallen.
It wasn’t a small tree. It had clearly stood for decades, weathering storms, seasons, droughts, heavy snows, and countless winds. Its roots had dug deep into the earth, and its branches had reached confidently toward the sky.
And yet there it was. Down. I stood there for a while in silence…I felt like I had started to mourn the tree…, I felt sadness. There is something humbling about seeing something so strong brought to the ground. But as I stood there for a while, I began to notice something else and shift how I viewed this experience.
The tree wasn’t actually finished…the fallen trunk was already becoming home to moss. Tiny mushrooms had begun appearing along its bark. Insects moved in and out of the crevices. Birds landed on it as if it had always belonged there.
What looked like an ending of a life, was actually becoming the beginning of something new and it was beautiful…beautiful in a way that it took my breath away.
The woods have a way of reminding us that life doesn’t view change the same way we humans do. As humans, we often resist falling. We resist endings. We resist change…boy, do humans hate change! We resist letting go of versions of ourselves that no longer fit.
We see a relationship ending, a career shifting, a dream changing, a chapter closing, and we immediately label it as failure.
But the forest doesn’t.
The forest understands that transformation often looks messy. The tree didn’t fail because it fell. Its purpose simply changed. And maybe the same is true for us.
How many times have we judged ourselves because something didn’t continue exactly as we planned? How often have we clung to what was because we feared what might come next?
Yet some of the most meaningful growth in our lives happens after we stop trying to remain who we once were.
The fallen tree reminded me that there is wisdom in surrender. Not giving up. Not quitting. But trusting that life continues to move through us even when we can no longer stand in the form we once knew.
Sometimes we are the towering tree. Sometimes we are the seedling. And sometimes we are in the sacred in-between—lying still, feeling uncertain, wondering what comes next.
The woods tell us that every stage has value. Nothing in nature blooms forever. Nothing remains dormant forever either. The cycles continue.
So if you find yourself in a season of change, loss, uncertainty, or transformation, perhaps take comfort in this: What appears to be an ending may simply be the forest making room for a different kind of growth.
The fallen tree is still part of the woods. And you are still part of your story. May you trust the wisdom of your own seasons.
With gratitude,
Laurie
(Written by SilverBear with AI)
Photo of the actual tree.
Yes, Nature is very wise and we can learn so much from these kinds of observations!
