The trees that fell down.

In Arizona a biosphere was created by planting trees inside a dome.

Only, once they grew to a certain height, the trees fell over.

The roots hadn’t grown strong enough to support them.

Because there was no wind.

Roots, it turns out, are made strong through resistance.

And if there’s nothing to resist, the roots are weak and the trees fall down.

In fact, if you want to get really arboreal about it, to help the roots resist the pressure of the wind, the tree produces reaction wood (or ‘stress wood’) that contorts the tree towards maximum resources (like light) and helps the roots bear the increased pressure.

The trees don’t ignore the wind.

Or avoid it.

Or try and eradicate it from their lives.

For trees, resilience is moving through - or letting resistance move around.

As the wind moves against and around the tree, the tree itself bends back but the roots compensate and the ‘stress wood’ helps it adapt and increase its survival chances.

For trees, the obstacle is the way.

So if we’re to avoid the fate of the trees on the bio-dome project, let’s embrace the winds that blow our way as a prerequisite for strengthening our roots.

Let’s grow our own stress wood so that we’re better equipped to find the resources we need to stay strong and better face future winds.

And let’s define ourselves not by the obstacles we face, but in how we respond to them.