08/07/2026
🌳 📚 Teachings from the trees …
This morning I purposefully took some time to myself, to allow my fingertips to explore the bark of ancient tress, pausing to trace and admire their every groove, knot, and weathered line.
Those very lines and grooves which are recognised, on trees, as the symbolism of character, resilience, and wisdom. We marvel at the stories they must hold, the seasons they have survived, and the quiet strength they embody simply by continuing to stand. 🌴 Trees are silently magical. ✨
I took this picture and noticed … not just the lines and patterns of the beautiful tree trunks … but the grooves and imperfections of my own outer skin … and how even the language used quickly shifted from beauty almost to disgust when applied to self …
I began to reflect how somehow, when we catch sight of the lines around our own eyes, the softness of our changing bodies, or the marks left by the experiences of a life fully lived, we don’t tend to hold the same awe and wonder. Instead, we often reach for words like flawed, old, or ugly. We often feel the need to apologise or hide those beautiful expressions of our lives.
What if we borrowed the same compassion we offer the trees? What if every line on our face was evidence of laughter, tears, perseverance and love? What if our bodies, like the trunks of old trees, were not becoming less beautiful with time, but more deeply rooted in the stories they carry?
I wonder …
I wonder … what that would be like?
I wonder … if we could notice the same silent magic within ourselves as we do within the trees?
I wonder … if you looked at yourself as you look at nature, what might you begin to see differently, how would that change the relationship with self?
I wonder …
How about you? … is there a part of your face or body that you’ve struggled to appreciate? I’d love to hear your thoughts on how it might change if you viewed it as a story rather than a flaw?