Where To From Here?

It's no secret that I like to walk. If the weather and time permit, I'd rather walk. During these walks, a bunch of thoughts are roaming around my head. The topics can differ from my current problems to spontaneous thoughts, triggered by something I see during my walks. It's a good way to find answers and solutions to my problems and also a good way to clear my head while getting some fresh air. Yes, I know, thinking about your problems is not exactly clearing your head, but if you find a solution, then it can be considered clearing your head as the problem can be solved and you have one less to deal with.

This month I've been walking up and down in an alley that is not only liked by many, but perfect for relaxation as well. We had a long autumn and trees were still green, but leaves were starting to fall already and the branches were visible. Looking at these trees I remembered someone on Hive (or the legacy chain to be precise) said, "that tree really wants to grow in every direction" and he was right. Unfortunately I can't remember exactly who it was, but his words (it was a guy for sure) stuck in my head forever. This is how my mind works, I tend to remember certain things for a long time. This can be good and bad, but I prefer to keep the good things only and forget about the bad ones, or bury them as deep as possible. Imagine when charting, I can hear my mentor talking about "mean reversions and inverse fair value gaps" and so on :D It's a huge advantage for sure, but that's not where I want to go with this story today.

While looking at these trees, was thinking how things work in life. Look at these trees. They grown and grow the way they want, then comes the human and starts cutting the branches one by one, one after the other as they please. Whenever a branch is ct, for the tree it means growing in that direction is stopped. What does the tree do then? It is looking to grow in a different direction. Rest assured the growth will not stop, there's always a new way to grow, mother nature makes sure of that. If not here, then there and there's always a way.

It's kind of cruel to cut the branches and humans are carrying out this cruelty regularly, for various reasons. What makes it even worse is when this cruelty is not limited to trees.

And here comes the shocking part. Human life is not any different. The life these trees are having, their way of growing is similar to the road we're walking in life.

Imagine yourself, planning out your life, starting from school, deciding with school you want to attend, then high school and later university. However, plans are plans and not always materialize the way you want them to. Or should I be honest and say they hardly ever materialize the way you want them. You don't get accepted to the university you want to attend for different reasons and chances to get accepted next year are slim to none. This translated to tree language means some humans cut your branch and won't allow you to grow in the desired direction. What do you do? Give everything up or look for another way to pursue your dreams?

Unfortunately, life is no Disneyland! Life is complicated. No one has a straight line to walk in life. No one! Even the well off and the wealthy ones are having problems, just different ones. Every road is full of curves, bumps, potholes, and sometimes you bump into dead ends too, when you need to walk back and find another way.

They did not know it was impossible so they did it. — Mark Twain

There are situations like the one the famous writer mentioned once. Plenty! I can tell you from experience, when you have no other choice, you will do it, no matter how difficult or impossible it seems.

I've been in a situation like that. I didn't know if it was possible to pull it off, so I did it as I had no other choice. When someone's life depends on you, you put aside your emotions and weaknesses and do everything in your power and beyond. In a case like I had, all I got was obstacles, day in day out and heavy ones. Most of the times I had no idea how to go on, which way to go, but somehow I always found a way and the necessary strength to go on. Breaking down was never an option.

When your back is against the wall and the world is against you, your survival instincts will guide you.

A good friend of mine, a very clever one said this and I totally agree with it. It's a proven fact and I know it's possible.

I took this photo 5 years ago, in May 2018. It's not the best one and most likely you don't know what you're looking at or why I'm posting this. Look again and see if you can spot something unusual, besides the damaged wall. High up there's a small plant growing out of the bricks. Can you see it? Does that look usual to you? At the bottom, on the right side, there's another one, growing out of the bricks.

This photo is more recent as it's from May this year. (Looks like May is the month to take these kinds of photos.) A similar scene, a small plant is growing out of the bricks.

I'm always thinking of how difficult it must be for that plant to live and grow. There's no fertile soil there, actually there's no soil there at all, max some sand brought by the wind. No one cares for these plants, but mother nature. Yet, they find a way to live and grow. When I go through difficult times and don't see the light at the end of the tunnel, I think of these poor plants.

Then there's this poor tree, that can't make it on its own. Sometimes help is needed to go on, to make the next step. I know it's not easy to ask for help, or to accept help, but sometimes it's necessary.

There's always a way!

Crazy thoughts, I know, but this is how I see life. What about you?

If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides:

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• Hive Is Not For Me
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• Tips And Tricks & Useful Hive Tools For Newbies
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• Community List And Why It Is Important To Post In The Right Community
• Witnesses And Proposals Explained - Newbie Guide
• To Stake, Or Not To Stake - Newbie Guide
• Tags And Tagging - Newbie Guide
• Newbie Expectations And Reality