Estimated Reading Time 5 Minutes
Hey You! I’m Emily Romrell and this is The Vibrant Life Podcast. How’s it going, my friends? I hope you’re having a happy day and that you’re having fun doing all the things: Learning, growing, loving, and living. That’s what it’s all about, right? And I’m stoked to have y’all with me for another podcast as we work toward living our best lives together.
I love learning. I love the excitement and the light that comes when something clicks and your understanding expands transforming your outlook on life. We literally grow into something slightly better every time that happens. I love seeing that light bulb moment reveal itself on the faces of other people as they learn and grow. I think it comes down to making connections, right. When we can connect a new idea or concept into our understanding of the world and our place in it, our vision of this puzzle of life becomes clearer.
That’s one reason I love words and reading and writing so much. In my mind I can go straight back to the moment I realized that these little symbols you write down on a piece of paper actually mean something. That they contain knowledge and through the magic of reading and writing you can ‘boldly go’ (as they say in Star Trek) to places you’ve never been before. Whether you’re transported to a world of fantasy, of history, or even just to a world of new understanding, you never come back to reality as quite the same person you were before the adventure began. It’s wonderful. And I mean literally full of wonder. Ever since I had that powerful realization, that books and words hold that secret knowledge, I’ve hungered to learn as much as I can.
I’ve also always had a very personal love of trees. They make my soul happy. In The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints, we often talk about “Filling The Measure Of Our Creation” and trees often make me think of that. They grow into the best version of a tree that they can be, and they inspire me to reach as high as I can to fulfill my potential. The natural beauty of trees helps to calm my heart when I’m anxious or troubled.
I was a tomboy as a kid, and I was always climbing trees anytime I had the chance. I remember when I was little, we would go to the city park and there were these big pine trees with giant droopy branches. They were fun and easy to climb because the branches spread out around just like a spiral staircase. Those trees were probably not quite as big as I see them in my ten-year-old memory. But I thought they were magnificent.
I remember there was one tree that had a little opening, but then all of the other branches drooped down to the ground and it created a sort of cave that I particularly thought was wonderful. I loved the Narnia books and I always felt like this little cave was as close to being a portal into a magical world as anything. But alas, I never could get that doorway to open. But I loved that spot and that tree for a long time. I still love it in my memory.
And if you don’t have a big living tree to climb, perhaps the next best thing is a beautiful stump to sit on. Stumps and old tree roots have so much character. They leave a visible history of something that did its best to grow and fill the measure of its creation, right? And just looking at the squiggly roots has a way of getting a part of the soul of a tree planted into your heart. It does to me anyway.
My grandma and grandpa Eyre had a whole line of big tall trees in their yard and my grandpa would always get after us kids for climbing them. He didn’t want us to get hurt. But they also had a big stump from a tree that they cut down right in the front of the yard. I remember climbing on that stump and jumping off it with glee. And I have a very fond memory of my Grandpa Eyre showing me the rings on that magnificent stump and explaining that each ring represented a year in the life of a tree. That stump was big and had well over a hundred rings. And I remember the wonder I experienced as I imagined the life and the ancientness of that tree before it was cut down. My child’s mind couldn’t fathom something that lived over a hundred years. My thirty-six-year-old mind finds it easier.
I have a point, I promise. I’m not just reliving my childhood with you for the heck of it. Although, I am experiencing a lot of nostalgia and getting all the feels. As my grandfather showed me how to count the rings on that tree stump I had one of those light bulb moments I mentioned earlier. I felt a connection to the trees, to my grandpa, and I was excited to learn more about how the world works. It’s a memory that’s stayed with me and become a part of me.
The study of tree rings to find dates is called Dendrochronology. This is especially helpful when it’s too early for carbon dating or to confirm historical info. We can also learn a lot from tree rings about climate and atmospheric conditions with Dendroclimatology. It’s similar to taking core samples of the earth. We can see when there were forest fires, droughts, floods, etc. Rings generally grow wider in warm, wet years and thinner in cold dry years. It’s fascinating.
I’ve been thinking about trees and their rings and how this record of the life of a tree is literally written inside them. And the truth is, human bodies keep a record too. Obviously we are more complicated than trees, but we all have different scars, birth marks, and other unique identifiers. If you watch any modern murder mystery shows, you know that the forensics team can find out all kinds of information by simply studying the body. The lives we live are written all over us, and each of us impacts the world around us significantly.
The biggest takeaway for me though is that whether it’s been a pleasant year with good growing conditions, or whether it’s been a cold, dry year with some hard knocks, each year brings a new ring of maturity and growth. And the tree becomes stronger and more beautiful as time and experience take their toll.
We are the same. Some seasons of our lives are easier than others. None of us get through this life without some growing pains. Mabe even trees have growing pains, who knows? And if we look back on our metaphorical tree rings, it might be easy to criticize ourselves if we have some skinny years. I know I can be hard on myself sometimes. But that’s not where our focus should be. Each season brings its own joy and its own lessons. And hopefully, when we look back we can see the growth and the character that forms us. We can see that we are closer to filling the measure of our creation.
Anyway, pondering on trees and the lessons that they can teach us has been enlightening for me this week. My challenge to you today is to take a few minutes today to recognize the significance of your life and the impact that you have on the world, and maybe remember some of the experiences that have formed you. Maybe you could go for a walk and take a closer look at the beauty of the trees. You could think about some of those light bulb moments in your life.
All of us are so unique. We each have our own special story to tell. Some chapters of our story are more enjoyable than others, but each chapter is a critical part of who we are. And that makes us all beautiful in individual ways.
I hope y’all have a beautiful week, my friends. Live The Vibrant Life.
