What do trees know about resilience?

Walking in October is an amazingly beautiful experience. The trees put on a dazzling yet warm display of browns oranges and yellows. The colours match the season of the year. It’s a prefect transition between autumn and winter, one in which changes happen in plain view.

Then follows the leaf-fall helped by winds and rain all a natural part of the lifecycle of trees.

Leaves in the spring and summer are resplendently clothed in chlorophyll. The green pigment needed to produce food and growth. By autumn as the amount of sunlight lessens and the temperature drops the chlorophyll breaks down. Light is a key part of the energy equation for growth, and trees are great at working out the cost of energy usage. So when supplies of sunlight drop the cost of growth become too high. Growth in the face of a coming winter is not a good idea. It stops.

Nature follows the pattern without thinking, yet people think we stand outside of that ecosystem.??How wrong can one be. To think of us as separate is not only foolhardy, it weakens our resilience and ultimately stunts our growth.

Autumnal displays of colour are due to other pigments like xanthene among others. These are there all along, only the overlay of chlorophyll hides whats underneath. As levels of chlorophyll drop, the other pigments shine through. Fall is characterised by changing fashions, brown and muted yellows tend to be the types of clothes we wear. We layer more fabrics, and wrap ourselves in scarfs. Pumpkins seem to be everywhere.?

As leaves fall, the trees exposed cuts and scars begin to cover and heal within hours. And long before leaves change, buds are being made in readiness for the new season.

Katherine May writes of tress:?It will not burst into life in the spring. It will just put on a new coating to face the world again.

In the same way resilience demands that we pay attention to the cycle of the seasons that we exist in. Cycles of nature have existed long before we became aware of them and have a great influence on how we live and act.

Resilience thoughts:

????Resilience is not fighting against the seasons. Like the tree there is a quality of hidden beauty to be discovered. Find it.

????Resilience involves preparation in times of active waiting. Be curious.

????It is not an instant occurrence or a one-time event; it comes as we traverse the seasons. Be patient.

????Resilience involves enjoying and enduring in varying measures. Live it.

Points to reflect on:

????What do your personal seasons look like?

????What does the bigger picture show you?

????What buds are you exploring and developing for the season ahead?

????Are you noticing the glorious colours all around you?

Do tell us what this season means for you.

And as always don’t just follow; join us in the journey of resilience. We have a live tomorrow over on our Instagram, we'll see you there.