An anecdote on what adversity brings to life
by Kristina Pattison
Designers once created a building in southern California with palm trees growing inside. Tall ceilings of glass allowed sun to shine down on the young trees. Watered and cared for, they quickly grew tall, lending ambiance to the building’s internal environment. People raved of the beauty of this innovation.
But soon, the towering young trees started coming down. One by one they fell, destroying the building from within. What the designers had unfortunately failed to reason into the equation for trees, was one simple and necessary, but oft overlooked resource: wind.
Forces of wind in the external environment stress young trees from their very beginning, allowing them to grow stronger and stronger so they can withstand their incredible height. The young palm trees had been sheltered from the very adversity they needed to survive.
In all the hard times, remember this: each challenge is an opportunity to grow, to change, to overcome and to survive. Without those harrowing events, you wouldn’t be who you are today. You wouldn’t have the heart and strength that allows you to overcome life’s greatest obstacles. And perhaps most importantly, you wouldn’t have what it takes to reach out and help another withstanding the storm.