While visiting northern Mexico last fall, I took a photo of this amazing tree. Changes over time had hollowed its insides to the point where its trunk looked like a stage prop in a children’s theater. Definitely not something that could hold up a magnificent crown of leaves. How was it possible? How could this tree continue to sustain itself?
We all make assumptions; it’s part of how we order and make sense of our world. Assumptions can give us the illusion of structure and safety. But those assumptions also can limit us, restrict our creativity, and deny our openness to what might be. Like the tree. If I looked only at its trunk and root structure, I would have assumed it was dead. Instead, it had grown to redefine itself as a work of art, a living sculpture, and a playground.
So here are some questions for you today. What limiting assumptions have you made about what you’re capable of in your life’s work? Have you committed to your ongoing growth and the leafing out of your canopy of capabilities?
Next time, when you think of what’s possible, remember the tree.
