Strength

Winds of change buffet the earth sometimes blowing as hot, suffocating breaths of air smothering life and crushing naive lungs in a vise. Winds can channel frigid arctic air through our skin causing the blood to run cold and changing warm hearts to ice. Hurricane force gales strip defenses bare until nothing remains but exposed and splintered skeletal bone. Other days, however, they come as warm beach breezes caressing our cheeks until rosy glows of hope emerge and our eyes sparkle with anticipation.

We walk against the wind and get nowhere or the wind can be at our back urging us onward. The wind is ever present except in the eye of the hurricane. All is still and nature holds a collective breath until it comes back slamming us forward into unplanned paths. Pushing. Destroying. Wreaking havoc on dreams.

And yet, we stand rooted in the earth solid as the massive redwoods, which have already stood the tests of time and people, in Muir Woods National Monument. These giant pillars of strength tower above the fray and allow the winds to ripple through their branches. Leaves are changed in the fall, shaken off in the winter, bud in the spring, turn green and hang tight in the summer; and yet, the trees bear witness and simply grow. Evidence of past damage can be found on the bark and in the life rings; and yet, these giants grow taller and reach higher every year.

These weathered Muir Redwoods appear as if they touch the heavens. Perhaps they do; and if we reach up and lift our eyes above, we too can find the strength to remain standing tall.