"For hugging the ground, following the shape of the terrain, were trees that could not grow upright, following the pattern of their kind. Instead they were growing as vines grow along the ground, and what seemed to be patches of shunted shrubs were rows of branches of growing, developing trees.
It is as if the tree had said 'I am destined to reach for the skies and embrace in my arms the wind, the rain, the snow and the sun, singing my song of joy to the heavens. But this I cannot do. I have taken root beyond the timber line, and yet I do not want to die. I must not die. I must take a careful survey of my situation and work out a method, a way of life, that will yield growth and development for me despite the contradictions under which I must eke out my days.
In the end, I may not look like the other trees, I may not be what all that is within me cries out to be. But I will not give up. I will use to the full every resource within me and about me to answer life with life'"
(Howard Thurman)
1 comment:
I love how hopeful and meaningful this quote is! Hope may not be very easy for you right now, Jess, but you seem to be drawing it out. Dig deep -- it's there. I love you.
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