Sidewalk construction interrupted my regular jogging route. Along my detour, I passed a tree stump whose cut surface had weathered to gray. The chainsaw had sliced gashes in its roots. Around its perimeter, small branches sprouted a bevy of healthy lime-green leaves.

That tree suffered the worst tragedy available to its species. Yet the chainsaw couldn’t cut its deepest roots, and the tree perseveres.

I hope you’re never a tree stump. If life turns you into a tree stump, I hope you find your roots and sprout.