“I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, of ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains. I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea, her beauty and her terror – The wide brown land for me!” (Excerpt from ‘My Country’ by Dorothea Mackellar)
As much as I love our jewel-seas for those precious family holidays to the beach and as much as I love the spectacle that is our ragged mountain ranges... it is and always has been the wide brown land for me. And when that wide brown land turns green there is no where on earth I would rather be...it’s a paradise, a sanctuary...there’s no more joyful place to live, work and play.
2019 was the driest year on record here at Pine Tree...and it’s a record that spans 100 years. We had a total of 4 inches for the entire year.
Let me tell you... It tested us. It challenged us. It sometimes broke us.
But it also... grew us. It inspired us. It strengthened us. I can say I am a different person because of it...I am stronger, more inspired, more resilient, more educated, more focused and more determined than I ever would have been without it.
I guess that’s the thing isn’t it, sometimes great emotional impact and turmoil forces us to grow in ways we never could have imagined.
The thing I want to share though is we didn’t and we couldn’t have done that alone. During times of struggle our fear, our worry, our guilt, our shame - they all ask us to hide and to isolate ourselves. These feelings can be overwhelming and very strong.
The only way forward, is to be our vulnerable selves, to show up with our tattered edges, to be afraid but do it anyway. Brene Brown says, “Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren't always comfortable, but they're never weakness.”
This is something we’ve had to learn and practice. Sometimes it’s messy. It’s awkward and it’s scary.
What really helps us during these times is the phenomenal support of family, friends, neighbours and colleagues. We also have the best customers and the most loyal followers in the world...not even kidding. We invest regularly in coaching and mentoring so that we are always learning, expanding and evolving. This is our foundation for growth.
When it gets scary...we’ve come to trust that we’re on the right path! We are learning to trust the process, keep the faith and know...
“The cave of fear you enter, holds the treasure that you seek.” Joseph Campbell