The Seed in the Cone - Articles and Tips on How to Stay Motivated

In 1997 I went on a bike trip from Livingston Montana to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Our small group of 12 started peddling through lush valleys ribboned with rivers and small streams, then through full thick forests and up grueling hills onto the plateau that was Yellowstone National Park. The landscape changed many times as we rode by hot bubbling geyser basins, pain pots, and waterfalls. And then one thick forested area after the other. We found ourselves so immersed into nature that our moods changed as the landscape did. The happy joy of the bubbling river, gave way to easy conversation in the great lush valleys, and then silence in the thick forest.

Nature Takes Away
Suddenly we found ourselves in a different kind of landscape. We were surrounded by land that had been devastated by fire. We noticed the dank smell of must and odor of death and then our eyes began to adjust to the dark earth around us. Our group got suddenly quiet and we each separated and created distance between ourselves. I think in our own individual ways we were grieving the forest and the animals that had perished there.

The ground was tar black. It looked scarred and sad. There were leaning snags and black frazzled twigs rising from the ashes. There were decaying trunks that looked like fallen telephone poles. Tall scorched tree trunks silhouetted against the blue sky…. No longer full of life, but monuments to themselves and the forest that was there before. They were the survivors. Standing tall and straight they said "I AM STILL HERE….I'm not going to give up."

But at the same time the forest floor that had hardly ever seen the sun when the forest was thriving, was now bathed in it. Although it seemed to focus on the death that had occurred on the barren ground, it also occasionally came to rest on short frail newly sprouted pine trees, fighting their way to life. They looked bright green against the black soil and were leafy and delicate, and yet strong in their own presence. We found ourselves transforming our attitudes from the negative of death and destruction to the optimism of hope and new life.

Nature Gives Back
How did these saplings come to be here in the first place? … in the middle of nowhere? Nature provides in the most amazing way. When the forest burns, the old growth is transformed into nutrient rich fertilizer. Deep under ground lies the secret of new growth and it comes from one particular pine tree: the lodge pole pine tree. The lodge pole pines are the tall thin pines that normally have sparse growth only on the very top. They are not remarkable in any way, except for this.

They produce two different kinds of pine cones: a cones with leaves that are partially opened and look very much like those produced by other pine trees, and very small cones. If you happened to find one of these small cones, you might overlook it or find it stuck onto the bottom of your shoe. You certainly wouldn't choose to add it to the collection you would use to decorate your house at Christmas time. It doesn't look like much. It's covered with nubs, and a sticky resin called sorotin. It doesn't release seeds that germinate to become another tree. As the years go by the small cones drop onto the ground and are covered with dirt, leaves and other deposits from the trees above. They are buried deep in the earth.

And there they sit, and rest … and WAIT … until the fire comes. It is only when the cones are touched by fire and extreme heat that the tiny seeds, holding the hope of new life, are released. While other cones perish in the flames, it's this small nubby, sticky cone that retains the spirit of life.

And New Life Begins
The saplings grow best in the fertile soil that the fire brings, and in full sun. The spruce and fir trees can only flourish under the shade of the lodge pole pine trees so they start to flourish again too. The wind, birds, insects and small animals bring in seeds that would never have been able to find places to grow before. AND SO THE FOREST BEGINS AGAIN! New life has begun with plants and animals that the land never welcomed before. The forest floor is fresh and new. The sun and rain are free to bathe the new forest. And life is better than it ever was before.

So it is with us. We have a seed inside; a spirit, or force that may be hidden from view. Sometimes, it is when fire comes that that hidden force, or spirit is released, and we become fresh and new. The devastation of major loss, or change, brings with it new opportunity to turn ourselves in another direction. We shed our old skin and start the process of rebuilding who we are. Like the forest, new growth comes to us because we have more open space to welcome new dreams, and with those dreams come new actions, new relationships and creativity.

But we have to let the land lay follow, have patience and know that the land must rest. Rain, and wind and sun are necessary for new growth, and God brings those. The fire creates the fertile environment, nature gives us gifts, we wait until the time is just right, and then with a final push we break through the soil. Like the sapling, we push, we grow, we struggle, and we become a tree standing straight and tall.

With fire and loss comes the knowledge that life repeats itself and is constantly renewing itself. No matter how many times the fire comes, no matter how many times we are beaten down, the spirit of new growth is just sitting there waiting to spring to life again.