I have been having a triggery few days...not sure why. My good friend who lives in the panhandle of Florida sent me this:
Growing up in South Florida I have been through many hurricanes and tropical storms and have watched the affect those winds have upon trees here. What allows the success of a tree to survive that storm is not the size of the tree but rather the type of tree and the root system it has developed! The tree that has the greatest chance of survival is the one that allows the wind to pass through its branches and leaves, that has a wide spread root system and that is somewhat flexible- bending with the wind as opposing to standing rigid against it.
Palm trees are exceptionally successful in surviving hurricane winds- they bend, they twist, they look as if they are ready to snap in half, but inevitably, return upright and continue to live. True, one will notice many palm trees growing at an angle and may not be straight; they may not perfect in stature, but they are survivors because they have learned when to ‘give’ and roll with destructive winds. The trees that are unbending to the winds are often the first to be snapped in two and destroyed!
“Of the four seasons, none lasts forever; of the days, some are long and some are short, and the moon waxes and wanes.”
Hurricane seasons come and go and winds may blow from all directions- that’s the way of the world and nothing can be done about it. What we can control is how we will react to the hurricanes as they approach and when the winds begins to blow, to see how well we are prepared to face them. Are our root systems strong and secure; do our branches and leaves allow potentially destructive winds to harmlessly blow through them or do we challenge every wind, perceive every breeze as a personal threat, never budging, never bending, never ‘giving a little’?
I hope it will be a quiet hurricane season, for when the storm strikes and the winds blow- it’s too late to start planting roots, too late to learn how to bend.
Thank goodness I have never had to go through one of those storms. But I found some peace within the words so I thought I would pass it on.
