After a wind storm and the flash flood of North Walnut Creek, walking on the concrete nature trail by our home meant stepping over dried mud and surveying damage to the woods. One tree was opened up in a manner I had never seen before and I tried to capture what I saw and felt when I came upon it.
I hope you can see how the tree is open to its core. It was shocking for me to see how utterly stripped apart the tree was. Apparently the wind behind blew it over because it was rotten inside.
The tree brought to mind a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote I had seen recently:
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
I love this quote as it speaks to what is important to me and where our focus will be for the next few months: what is inside.
Watching a young child interact with others, witnessing an adult child make it through a life transition with integrity, cheering on a friend working out how to be in a long term relationship, or feeling your own inner landscape becoming larger are all ways of comprehending what lies within.
I hope you will be open to changing your focus of attention from what is behind you to what is inside you. I’m excited about our new direction!
Thanks for exploring the mystery – Nicky Mendenhall
CLUE for the week: Pay attention to your inner responses this week. How many times do you try and talk yourself out of what you are feeling? Be kind to yourself this week and cherish what is inside.
8 comments
Not sure about my inner responses. If I find myself ‘impatient and recognize it’ an example? Thought about last weeks blog too as I consider myself to be an introvert.
Hi Nolan,
Yes, impatient is an inner response. It is usually in response to something outside but it can also be a response to something inside us such as being impatient with a stomach ache.
Recognizing our response is when we often get harsh with ourselves – call ourselves names or feel disgust at the thought.
The recognition is what I'm going for here. It's almost like recognizing the recognition and seeing if it is helpful to us or leads to a feeling we don't like.
That sounds kind of confusing to me even – so ask if you have questions.
Yes, I would think of you being introverted, much more so than Nina.
Thanks so much for reading and commenting! It means a lot to me.
I'm excited about changing focus. I'm looking forward to reading your insights.
Hmmm. I think recognizing is always helpful–knowledge is power–although it may not always feel good. Sometimes what's inside is painful, and it is easier in the short term to cover it up–or in my case–get an ice-cream sundae! But those "cures" are short-lived. I've learned over my years that facing the inside is the only way to the other side.
Hi Diane! So good to hear from you. I think you are correct – the short term cures are so seductive but, in the long term, not very useful.
I smiled at your ice cream sundae example remembering your battle with sugar. Sugar is seductive!
Going to the inside to get to the other side – I like the sounds of that and may use in future.
Hope your project is going well. So great to have you here! I miss you!
Hi Susan – I'm excited too! I hope I have insights that will be useful for your life. You have a lot of wisdom so I hope you will share some of it in future comments. I so appreciate your reading and commenting. I miss knowing what you are doing with your writing career.
Hi Nicky. I like the fact that you were able to connect your interior life with a sight you came across while exploring nature. This image and this connection is going to stay with me for some time.
Thank you Greg – it always thrills me when I can make connections like this. My pleasure is increased by your comment that the connection will stay with you for some time.
I hope you will continue to read and let me know how my writing affects you.
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