Kierkegaard and Tree Saws

Recently in my home town we had freezing rain over a couple of days.  The trees everywhere became weighted down with gradually accumulating layers of ice.  Limbs, branches and trunks split and fell, in some cases entire trees came down.  Naturally, power lines came down with them.  Residents all over town lost power.  Every neighborhood street held the remains of wooded winter casualties.

When the weather passed, residents emerged.  They began gradual organized effort to gather, cut, and haul off fallen branches.  When the cleanup is done after storms like this, usually all that remains is broken or scarred trees.  Some of them live on with renewed growth during springs and summers to come.  Some of them do not, and have to be completely cut down and disposed of.

The trees which live, carry on and continue to grow providing shelter and beauty for people and creatures.  The trees which do not survive return to the earth and decay, providing nourishment for future life.

The ice storms of life pass through the lives of people, weighing them down with heavy burden, often leaving them broken.  Our bodies and our spirits emerge after the storm to begin a gradual process of clearing away and healing the hurt and harm.  Some bodies and souls live on, carrying scars but continuing to grow, giving love, hope and wise experience to people around them.

Some bodies and souls do not live on, but pass into the eternities when they give out from being broken.  These bodies nourish the earth.  The memories, loves, and words from these souls continue to nourish those souls who remain.

It has been said that what doesn't kill me makes me stronger.  It may also be true that what does kill me gives me rest, providing memory and inspiration to others long after I am gone.