Don’t pray for lighter burdens, but for stronger backs. Nothing endures but personal qualities. Those who endure, conquer. (Rodney A. Winters)
My partners and I in the yard share the same name, sweet gum. In the autumn our star leaves create a varied pallet of orange, yellow, and green. A scene worth painting or watching from the window as birds visit.
We stand bare now. My branches reach out at a different angle than the trees next to me. We are individual, beautiful, rooted in the earth.
Touch my surface. Cold is okay. More than okay. Can you imagine how weak you would be if high winds never tested you. Yes, I am aware of the rest of the earth. It affects me. When you trim my dead branches. When leaves appear or drop. I don’t have speech. I do have presence.
Thanks for celebrating this moment with me. January, like life itself, ends. Celebrate it while it is here.
terrypetersen 