Still standing...

Still standing…

I took this photo in Petworth Deer Park in May.

The oak tree has been split almost vertically by lightning, the impact of that force impossible to miss. It runs through the trunk like a history the tree has had no choice but to carry.

And yet, above it, there is a full green crown.

I found myself pausing there for a while. The tree was still alive, still growing, still beautiful. Not despite what had happened to it but somehow with it.

Perhaps resilience is not about returning to how we were before. Perhaps it is about continuing to live with what has marked us, allowing the wound to be part of the whole picture, without letting it become the whole story.

I offer counselling online and in person, including walk and talk therapy for those who find it helpful to think, feel and reflect while moving outdoors.