Stump

Outside my previously office was a stump.

Not of my making. And I guess the tree didn’t have much say in it either…
But a stump none the less.

It looks pretty typical for a tree stump.
Horizontal cut pretty close to the ground.
You can only guess what that tree was like…

A stump is kind of sad really.
A memorial to a life that was there and is now gone.

Here’s the thing. It appears that after all that it is not as dead as I first thought.
Its exisitence while looking bleak, has a glimmer of hope it appears.
For out of this stump are some shoots.

Here’s what I think. 

And here is what I try and remind myself.
No matter how impossible it seems, life can return?

Do you feel like a stump.
Maybe life and what happened to you feels like it cut you off, maybe even in your prime.
Maybe someone or a group of someones cut you down, mulched you up and you have felt finished. Gone. Hopeless.
And yet deep down even among all the pain you have a slither of hope, a morsel of life, just looking for another shot.

If you feel like a stump first I want you to know that you are not alone.
And I want you to know that life can come again the worst of experiences.

Hang on to hope, even it if feels like a stump.

Something to think about…

The unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

I am a sucker for people’s stories told well.

And when I saw the short for the movie with the above name I was intrigued enough.
Not enough to see it when it was released in theatre, but enough for when it came recently to a streaming service.

For me it fitted in to the same story telling as other favourites of mine, like Mr Holland Opus and Forrest Gump. Because stories about other peoples lives can so powerful, they can inspire, they can trigger emotions. They seem to just draw me in, in ways others movies can’t.

The theme all the way through was pain.
Pain many carried and seemed to be unable to shake. 
They all struggled and seemed powerless to over some that pain.
Pain that reminded me of my own and the pain I have struggled to shake.

So through my leaking eyes I wanted to reflect when it finished because the story, the metaphor is so powerful. Every person portrayed had pain.
And every person dealt with it it seems the same way, by withdrawing from others.
And they couldn’t escape it.
It wasn’t working!

No amount of time or distraction was bringing them the hope and healing they wanted.
In the movie I believe in life…
We can carry pain.
And we need others to help us through.
Not to forget, but to loosen its hold on us.

The one thing you are desperately trying to avoid is maybe the one thing you need. 

Reaching out to someone or a small group of someone’s you can love and who can love you back. 

Just one person you can trust and open your heart to could be all you need to release your pain.

Something to think about…

I Quit - no really I did quit

Late last year I quit!

That's right I resigned a role and qualification I have had for some 17 years. 

Something I sacrificed to achieve for over a decade leading to achieving the goal.

Something I studied and prepared for, for some decades.\

This decision process was something I literally agonised over for many months. 

In part because of my pride.

In part because of the price paid to get there.

And in huge part because it had a nagging tinge of defeat in my soul attached.

But here its the thing and few other things I have learned through this process...

Sometimes quitting is an act of cowardice.

And sometimes it is a show of bravery.

Not quitting is sometimes based on fear.

And other times quitting is a declaration of faith.

Here is another concept to consider...

It always looks different out the other side. Always!

Before making this decision, I didn't want to make it because I didn't know what the other side of it would feel like or look like? What the cost my be?

In hindsight it wasn't that bad. 

And actually my perspective has changed. 

Something I could see before the call being made.

No one wanted the make the decision for me!

You need to know in your own heart whether quitting is right.

Get advice. Meditate on the ramifications. Let your conscience help guide.

Before you quit...

Ask your own heart why you think you should.

Ask someone else who won't be guaranteed to just agree what they think.

Ask others who know you best.

Be honest and be brave.

Something to think about...