Deadwood & Underbrush

Daily Meditation 1,194–6/17/2025

The forest is filled with dense underbrush of dead logs, stumps, and roots, all at various stages of decomposition.

Some are decades gone, withered into soft spindles which crumble into moist bits at the slightest touch.

Others are freshly dead, still “standing,” leaned against another tree, the sides bored full of holes, homes for animals of all kinds.

And yet others are buried underfoot beneath 20 years of autumnal leaves, filled with worms, converting into the soil for the next spring’s sprouts.

These trees are not so different from you.

One day, you too will be gone. It is up to the you of today to act in a manner which will leave a rich, “nourishing” legacy for your children and community.

You volunteer. You are upright. You are honest. You are a fair dealer. You are encouraging. You are wise.

And so many other things!

Here’s the frame; if you died right now, would you be happy about the legacy you’re leaving for, say, your children and community?

You might gulp and think over your partying, your occasional snort of coke, your calling in to work hung over, scrolling while at the playground with the kiddos…

We’re not perfect and never will be, yes. But we can always remember the dead — but nourishing — stumps of the forest. Yes, they are gone, but the sprouts and trees immediately around them are THEIR sprouts and trees from their seeds!

Our legacy is much the same and we get to act in a way which defines it.