017 The Push That Makes Us Strong
Hey Wind, because you keep pushing it, a tree grows a shorter, thicker trunk. Sheltered from you, it grows tall and thin instead.
What have we been protected from that we actually needed?
What hardship made you stronger than comfort ever could?
On an open hillside, a tree stands alone in the wind. It is short. Its trunk is thick and gnarled.
In a sheltered garden nearby, a tree of the same kind stands tall and slim.
What really happens
When wind keeps pushing a tree, the tree responds. It grows a shorter, thicker trunk and stronger roots.
A tree protected from the wind grows tall and thin instead, and can be easier to snap when a real storm comes.
How we know: Foresters and plant scientists have long observed that wind and movement change how trees grow.
The turn
We try hard to protect ourselves and our children from every push.
But a little wind is what builds the trunk. Too much shelter can leave us tall and thin when the storm finally arrives.
Three takeaways
- Some pressure is good for us.
- Strength is built by what pushes against us.
- Protecting someone from every challenge may leave them weaker.
The wind was never against the tree. It was building it.
No tree becomes rooted and sturdy unless many a wind assails it. For by its very tossing it tightens its grip and plants its roots more securely.