Growing, Despite Adversity

Thrive!

In my memoir I write about my journey from an early life of continuous heinous abuses, through adult years of alcoholism, disastrous decisions and outcomes, to ultimately finding my authentic self and innocent spiritual connection with all of nature.

I am fortunate to have found and utilized several resources including an alcohol recovery program, years and years of therapeutic intervention and an astrologer who set me on my life’s path as a shamanic practitioner and teacher.

Perhaps, if we humans could miraculously re-create ourselves as less complex creatures, we would have the innate ability to course correct like what birds, clouds, trees, and most non-human beings on Earth demonstrate for us. Take, for instance, this photo of a tree, taken by my friend and fellow substacker, Ben Williamson, a renown nature and landscape photographer.

Can you see how, under the full moon, this photo demonstrates how this nearly dead fir tree has created an entirely new tree from its crown? Miraculous, right?

Ben says this about the photo:

Seeing the moon come out of the mist as we were climbing Mt Katahdin, literally stopped us in our tracks. We were all overwhelmed by the beauty of seeing it - this scraggly branch of a tree, mostly dead at the crown, but starting a new crown with a side branch reaching upward, was pure luck, but really spoke to me afterwards. It was a story of overcoming adversity, which so many people have done, but it isn’t always easy. The moon is a beautiful and needed companion in the darkness, and a promise that light is always shining, if we know where to look.

I particularly like the end of his last sentence, …”the light is always shining if we know where to look.” In photography looking for where the light is shining is essential to a successful photo. In our lives, we, too, must look for where the light is shining if we are to grow visions of hope that we’ll not only survive our former abusive experiences, but that we will thrive, keep growing, find ways to help ourselves out of the muck when we fall into depression or despair.

I’ve found that dwelling on past abuses and misdeeds accomplishes nothing positive in my life; it pulls me down into the darkness from which I’ve worked hard to ascend. I look for the light, always, the hope that tomorrow holds the potential for new insights, a new way of looking with a heart full of hope that the positives in my life’s journey will continue, if, and only if, I look for the light in every moment.

We, too, can be the tree. Overcoming adversity isn’t as innate for us as it was for this scraggly tree that grew an entirely new life. I believe in us, and our ability to create better lives, and, at times, an entirely new life as we continue to strive toward overcoming adversity.

If you’d like to follow Ben Williamson’s substack with stunning photos that inspire me with hope and courage, sign up for his substack at: benjaminwilliamson.substack.com.

He’s a wonderful young man with a huge heart and a deep love for nature and all her hidden beauty.

I’m grateful for your continued interest in my posts and always look forward to feedback or comments.