096 Growing on Their Work
Hey Sapling, you took root on an old tree that fell long before you were born. Its slow decay became your soil.
Whose life's work are we growing on?
Whose life's work are you growing on?
In a damp forest, a great tree lies fallen, covered in moss.
Along its back, a row of young trees is growing, roots wrapped around the old trunk.
What really happens
In some forests, fallen trees slowly decay and become 'nurse logs'.
Seedlings take root on them, using the soft, moist, rotting wood as a place to grow.
How we know: Nurse logs are described by forest ecologists, especially in temperate rainforests.
The turn
Every one of us grows on someone's life's work: parents, teachers, those who came before.
Often, they fell long before we were born.
Three takeaways
- You grow on others' work.
- Honour the ones who came before.
- One day, your work will be someone's soil.
Grow on the old tree. Thank it.
If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.