Majella Reid

by Majella Reid

As the dust settles on disappointment, a green shoot no larger than the size of a half a matchstick emerges from the dark, damp ground. It is preparing for its voyage into the skies above.

A solitary journey beckons, frought with danger. Repeated harsh weather will meet our shoot as the storm clouds roll in and the heavy rains penetrate the forest’s protective canopy. Rising water levels threaten to consume this green beacon of light.

But eventually, the storm rolls on and our fledgling shoot is safe once more. The shoot is not shaken and continues to move onward and upward, ignoring what may yet be and focusing solely on what is – its calling.

That calling is to rise when no other option is available. To reach for its destiny – to become the Great Oak.

Fueled by these dreams and nurtured by self-belief, our shoot rises further and further, leaving behind the dark, damp ground and reaching for all its worth towards the sunlight up above.

And so it journeys, day after day, year after year. Taking one step at a time. Focusing on the present moment.

They say the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and so it is with our green shoot. A single step. A single belief. It can be done.

Finally, many many years from now, the Great Oak will look back on her humble beginnings and see that within that difficult time in the dark, damp ground, she was simply…emerging.