Beauty from Adversity

Sometimes I feel old. But walking in the ancient bristlecone pine forest among the oldest living organisms on earth—these trees—makes me feel young. One pine named Methuselah is over 4,700 years old, living more than half its life before Jesus was even born! I ponder what this tree has witnessed…

Approaching the forest, the landscape seems too desolate to harbor any flora. But as I gain elevation in these White Mountains—a high desert range—I am surprised by spheres of golden flowers, puffs of bristly brush and good-sized green conifers.

But there’s nothing quite like the wildly twisted trunks of these anthropomorphic bristlecone pines, flailing their multiple arms upward in pleading gestures. I wonder: Are they praying for us; for rain?

They have made adversity their friend, not living thousands of years despite their harsh conditions, but because of them. They’ve taken advantage of a climate in which few others can survive. Seeing them I ask: How can I approach adversity differently?

These pines are beautiful in a way unlike a perfectly symmetrical tree. I realize I am who I am because of my wounds and scars. Bringing beauty from pain is something that’s taken me a lifetime to learn. Imagine what I could learn in 4,700 years…

All photos © Sondra Sula.