Trees Don't Move Unless They Grow

The other night while we were roasting marshmallows over the firepit, my little Aristotle (age 9) said, "Trees don't move unless they grow". I thought about this today as I took my first archery lesson. As I stood up for my turn with the bow and the target, it was amazing how quickly all my bad habits came back...I tensed up and held my breath while trying to avoid any "mistakes". Of course, mistakes are part of the learning process...necessary, in fact, to find that balance of the right place for us to be in that moment.

I now know this about myself...although it would have been very useful as a younger person to find out my "default" mode. The beauty of this, however, is that I now know some of what triggers this reaction, to identify it when it occurs, and counteract it. The blessing of getting older is that finding faults now is a plus. I want to know how to "grow". As my beautiful daughter illustrated so eloquently, I can't do that unless I move, change, resist, explore, create and expand. In doing so, I see my fears for what they are - present, but unnatural. In other words, they are not necessary. The necessary fears - don't engage rabid animals, angry people, or other dangerous situations - are helpful. The unnatural fears - don't try something new, you may not be good at it; don't soar when you can coast, it's safer to be unnoticed - go against nature. They limit us in bad ways, creating unnatural boundaries that prevent us from branching out and becoming the souls we were meant to be.

So the next time the younger set says something, stop to consider. Not everything is about cartoons, toys, stuff they want to buy,and food they want to eat. Sometimes their observant way teaches us to see the trees amidst the forest and admire their beauty. In turn, perhaps we will begin in some small way to see that same beauty in others as well as ourselves.