I came across this beautiful, old tree and noticed that a large rock was embedded in the trunk and was carried up as the tree grew over the past 50 years. It grew in an incredibly hostile environment. There is no soil on this side of the island, only a type of regolith as found on Mars, containing rocks and various fines, but little nutrients normally associated with soil. Rather than let that impede its growth, it made the best of it, growing around obstacles, and actually picking up what it could not grow around, making the stone a part of its unique beauty. What seeming obstacles exists in my life that I can accept, accommodate, and carry with me, bearing witness to an open and healthy philosophy of life?