Learning to Live like a Palm Tree

"Alone with myself, The trees bend to caress me, The shade hugs my heart" ~ Candy Polgar

When life throw things at you, learn to live like the Palm Tree:

A palm tree can survive in intense desert conditions, in tropical climates and through hurricanes! Part of their amazing ability is due to their roots. In a drought, a palm will actually survive when all else is dying because of the long tap root system it uses to find water deep within the ground. This root system makes the tree sturdy and helps it weather the storms. We also need a support system to help us get through the rough times. When we are surrounded by family and friends, we can weather the storms life throws at us. Roots keep you grounded and strong.

In a hurricane, a palm tree will flex and bend, practically in half. If it stood rigid, resisting the winds, it most likely would break. Instead, a palm tree grows upward with a new disk added each year to the trunk that allows it to flex, kind of our the discs of our spine. We need to learn to be more flexible and adaptable to the winds of change. Life is full of change and you must learn to flex and change too.

Have you ever seen a palm tree where the bark on it has ruptured and is peeling off? That's because the bands of bark around it break. It won't be confined by the status quo. We need to not be satisfied with it either and push ourselves to grow to the point of bursting. We should not be defined by our circumstances but push through the barriers to a better life.

When a tsunami hits and the palm is trying to hold firm, it will often shed it's fronds to lesson the resistance and allow itself to survive. Our egos are like the fronds. We often times cling to them in the harsh storms life throws at us and should shed them so that we can continue to survive. Once the storms have passed, we often have gained new perspective and will grow new fronds while standing tall just as the palm tree does.

The sap in palm trees runs through the entire trunk like grasses so even if the outside gets banged up and damaged, the tree does not die like other trees. I like to think of the sap being like love. If we get banged up, cut, beat upon, the love we carry inside us will see us through the surface injuries and helps to heal the deeper wounds.

A group of palm trees form an oasis. If we gather our friends and families close to us, they can provide us with shelter and help us reinforce our vulnerable parts. Younger more fragile life learns to grow in the shade of the love we can share.

So when life throw things at you, learn to live like the Palm Tree!