Possibility Amongst The Trees

Standing amongst the trees, as I looked up at the biggest one I could find, I always calculated which way I could climb it.

I’d study the base, look for ways to munevar up (or in) through a space, review the limbs and possible combinations of jumps I’d have to make, even record which branches looked solid and which ones didn't; sometimes even being surprised by a branch I thought I "couldn't trust" from the ground, actually helped my next move once I was up in the air.

As a kid, climbing trees wasn't fearful to me, it was more like the ultimate “challenge accepted” and I mean this, with every single tree. I practically ran to every “scary and unclimbable” tree I could find - naturally, scaring the (blank) out of my parents.

“Don’t climb up there!” I always heard one of my parents yell (because they knew I would attempt it with zero thoughts of a broken bone or stitches) so, with pure discipline and fear in their voice, they would always try to warn me in advance. “Do not climb up that tree, I'm not coming to get you if you get stuck!" - they would call out, as my last warning before "go time."

"I’m not!” I would shout back with a smile, as I eagerly waited for them to get clear from view so I could shoot up the tree and come back down before they’d even notice.

Now as I sit here, 32, studying the tree outside my window, reviewing my “adult” tasks for today, difficult and not, my first thought as I looked up at this massive oak outside of my window was overwhelming hesitation, my second idea was undaring, “I wouldn’t dare climb that'' I actually thought and said to myself, but then I heard something quiet, barely noticeable and in the distance, way, way, way in the back of my mind; it was a small voice and my third and final thought, which began to remind me that I had always climbed trees.

Even if I fell 5 times, I always tried to climb the biggest trees I could find, trees bigger than the oak staring at me through my window and I would never give up until I succeeded. I just KNEW, that there had to be some way “up” and I knew I would ALWAYS find it.

That's when my third thought creeped in to speak: “Well, you know it's possible."

And with the thought of possibility, I realized that third (very small at first) voice is the real me.

Yes, the 7 year old me, the one that needs to at least calculate the possibility. The one that needs to AT LEAST try and then keep trying until they get it. The one that sees the possibility amongst the trees.

Possibility, amongst the trees.

That pure feeling of possibility reminds me that today, anything is possible.

See, every day I pick a word or a phrase to carry in my heart and mind as my intention for the day, to remind me of the positive aspects of life and shift my into my purpose to create from a place of truth.

So today, as I sit here with a list of work and other things to check off my "adult to-do" list, I realize, that I can never really forget to check in with my “little” dreamer, my inner truth, the one that NEEDS to imagine and create, the one that shoots up the tree and learns how to get down later, even if that means embarrassingly crying for my dad to come get me down because he was right, this was not the tree for me, at least, not today. The brave at 8 me, the one that just goes for it, the one that believes that anything is possible and most importantly, remembers to believe in themselves.

So, I ask. Who were you, before people told you it was impossible?

Who were you, before you quit your dream? Your real dream. The dream that makes you sing. The dream that made you practice line kicks in your room for hours. The dream that had you staring up at your basketball poster all night praying that one day, that would be you on that poster. The dream that made you, dream.

Who were you, before you took the superheroes off your walls? And, threw away your space constellations of the moon and the stars that lit up your bedroom ceiling magically, every night. Who were you, before you started hiding your barbies before your friends came over? I have a feeling, that person, is the real you.

I have a feeling, that you're not the fear that you consume or give into, and you’re not the fear that consumes you, you're not the first or even the second thought, or any thought for that matter; you're not the thoughts that “protect you” by discouraging you and convincing you to play it "safe", I have a feeling that underneath those ideologies, thoughts and rules, is the real you, looking at possibility, laughing at danger and just waiting to climb the "impossible tree."

The one that has never been afraid to go for it and never will be.

The one that has been waiting for you to realize who you are; the one that won't allow you stop dreaming, the one that wakes you up with nightmares of your dreams, the one that will always see the possibility amongst the trees. To me, today, at 32, the “possibility, amongst the trees'' means all things, in all ways, are possible, always; and if you change the way you see, you’ll see the amazing ways in which you can change, anything, because, well....it's possible.

May you never been too old or too cool to find the “possibility, amongst the trees" and follow your dreams.

For more daily motivation, inspiration, and positive pep talks on life, weight loss, mentality, health and wellness; check out my podcast! Chelsea Swift Is Your Spirit Animal | On Apple, Spotify, Pandora and Anchor podcasting apps.