Life is like a tree

 

When I was young I used to think that life is like a straight line. You choose a path and you stay on it forever. That’s what the grownups around me did; they got a job when they were a young adult and stuck with it until they retired. When I was twenty-four I discovered that in reality life is more like a tree.

   At that point I decided that I did not see my future self working at a conservation/environmental non-profit. I saw the battles my colleagues were fighting every day to make a difference, and I saw the toll that it took on their personal lives; if you are going to really make a difference you have to give the cause your all.

   Growing up I saw how all-consuming a job could be; my parents, as journalists, lived and breathed the news. They championed the people living in the Middle Eastern countries who were being stepped on, or being used as pawns, by more powerful countries.

   They listened to the BBC news countless times a day, talked about the issues, railed against the injustices that they saw, interviewed people, traveled into ‘hot spots;’ these were the things that they did all the time and it was exhausting for me.   

   So, when I saw that the champions who worked tirelessly to save the environment had to accept the same trade-offs that my parents did, I decided that I needed to take a different fork in the tree. This was a very painful decision to make because from the age of about ten onwards I had decided that when I grew up I would protect the environment and the wild creatures that I loved so much. Just like many of my heroes, Gavin Maxwell, Gerald Durrell, Joy Adamson, Dianne Fossey, Jane Goodall, and Sir David Attenborough, were doing.

   Since then I have ‘re-invented’ myself four times; two of these occasions were very difficult and painful because they were brought about by illness.   

   Many people I know have had similar experiences. Unlike their parents and grandparents, they have made (sometimes drastic) changes in their lives when the branch they were on no longer suited or served them. Or they have been forced to make a change because of ill fortune.

   There are times when I look back with regret, which is when I remind myself that the branches I have taken did not result in a loss. Indeed, each one, no matter how painful it was, has given me tools that have served me well ever since. They have helped me to grow emotionally and intellectually, which is no small gift.

Nothing you experience is random 

It may not make sense at the time 

but later when you join the dots 

you will see the bigger picture.

We don't always recognise the path

we are being placed upon 

but along the way we encounter 

serendipities that resonate.

In time you start to understand 

each road is about living and learning.

Each life experience a gift presented 

to enable you to reach your higher self.

Each loss can become a gain

if you are willing to accept 

that pain and suffering leads to

wisdom and growth .

Your time on this earth plane 

is just a small part of a longer journey.

No one knows what lies ahead 

but have faith that it doesn't end here.

We are merely encountering life

in all its hues, from sorrow to appreciation.

Our soul already knows the path, 

And knows the way back home ...

C.E. Coombes

Artwork by Night Cafe