Finding Connection

For many years, this lone tree greeted me on my attempts to run up this steep, rocky cliff.

Inspiration

Standing by itself in the middle of the path, it was impossible to pass without acknowledgment. Day after day, I pushed uphill with resolve, only to lose steam at the base of this tree. I would stop here, leaning against its steady trunk, catching my breath. 

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As I rested, I started to get to know this tree. Weathered and solitary, it stood directly in the path, shaped as much by-passing feet as by time itself. Most of its branches were gone—broken away, stripped back—yet it remained upright. The ground around it was eroded, revealing a web of exposed roots gripping the hillside, thick and twisting, stretching across rock and soil in all directions. Holding fast despite constant wear, the tree mirrored something I recognized in myself: endurance, strength in the face of adversity, and the determination to keep standing strong.

It was at this point that I realized I had made a friend. From then on, with each passing run, I would willingly stop to greet the tree—placing my hand against its trunk as one might with a trusted companion. This ritual continued for some time. With my heart pounding from the climb, I pressed my hand against the tree and paused—listening, feeling, as if reaching for the rhythm of its own quiet pulse. In those moments, the exhaustion of the hill faded, and I sensed a steady, enduring presence beneath my palm—my friend, weathered yet unwavering, holding its ground as I caught my breath beside it.