Resilience

On the Eastern part of Puerto Rico, the mountainous Yunque Rainforest lurks in the background of any vantage point. Looming high above the clouds on the tallest mountain peak, legend has it that Yucahu, guardian of the Taino, watches over the people on his throne.

In 2017, Hurricane Maria destroyed the forest, eradicating the canopy and leaving a once shaded forest floor exposed to sunlight and extreme heat for the first time in hundreds of years. The birds moved away and most of the other insects and animals died in the storm. Most of the plants were blown away, ripped from their roots and thrown into bigger, stronger trees until they piled up one on top of the other in a heaping mound of death and destruction. The trees that withstood the storm were stripped of their beauty and branches, and left with deep scars that would never heal. And yet, despite the massive devastation, the forest began to regrow entirely on its own. New branches and leaves grew off of dead tree trunks. The trees that didn’t survive the storm left strong and deeply planted roots, which began to germinate new life above the surface. The palm trees cloned themselves, termites resurfaced from their underground hiding spots, and hermaphrodite insects got busy reproducing. As the plant life grew, small insects began to migrate back to the forest, attracting larger animals. Two years ago, Yunque was a tangled mess of dead tree limbs, and today, it is a lush green paradise for humans and animals, alike.

This week, I had the opportunity to visit Yunque and hike up one of its steepest trails. Some of the trees in the forest are over 200 years old, which means they were planted well before automobiles stopped to gaze upon them, and before electricity lit up the street lights next to them. They endured countless wars and storms, and at times, their strength was severely tested as their trunks wavered back and forth in 200+ mile an hour winds during at least three Category 5 hurricanes that hit the island. As I stood next to these 200 year old trees, running my fingers along the grooves and dents in their trunks, observing the difference in colors and textures of these beautiful scars created by destruction, I felt naive. I spent most of my life covering up my physical and emotional scars, and here I was standing next to a life form much older and wiser than me, finding beauty not in her perfection, but in her scars. These trees were so beautiful and every tour group that passed by couldn’t resist taking a photo next to them. Tourists were enamored by the beauty in their scars, running their fingers along them just as I had, wrapping their arms around their giant trunks and then giddily posing for a “tree hug” photo. Sure, in their younger days, these trees were likely flawless, but people weren’t stopping to take photos next to the young trees; they wanted to see the beautiful, scarred trees.

So, why am I telling you about 200 year old trees and plants that clone themselves? It’s because we can learn a lesson from nature. No matter the strength of the storm or the degree of destruction that comes with it, nature never gives up on itself. It always repairs and regrows. It never says, “Well, I’ve had enough so I am going to give up now.” It’s not an overnight process, nor does it come without sacrifice, but it does, eventually, rebuild itself into something much more lush and beautiful than before the storm. Nature teaches us that resilience is rewarded, and that there is no storm that we cannot weather. Ms. Independent, if a forest that has been battered with 250+ mile per hour winds for days, losing most of its plant and animal life, can rebuild itself into something even more magnificent than before, then we, too, can rebuild ourselves. You may have been stripped down by a powerful storm, temporarily losing parts of yourself that you can’t imagine ever growing back. But here’s the thing, Ms. Independent…you will regrow. Maybe you won’t regrow into what you were before the storm, but you will regrow into a stronger and more beautiful version of yourself because you have strong roots and you’ve shed the dead parts of your soul. You’ve been stripped of the negative in your life, and while this feels like you have been destroyed and are now exposed to the intense sunlight, you have actually been planted. And that sunlight will make you grow.

Ms. Independent, you may feel knocked down, broken, bent, or even completely destroyed right now, but like the forest, you will regrow. And you will flourish. And your courageous scars will be beautiful.

Now, it’s time to grow.

-C