New Growth on Old

I saw this tree the other day and had it to stop and take a picture. 

As you can see it's not the most amazing or large or fantastic tree but what I noticed about it and what really spoke to me is the new growth stemming out of an older stump. As I careen towards middle age, I find it really hard not to feel archaic, especially as I broaden my social horizons to include different circles. Some of these circles hold much younger members and I find myself struggling to keep up but just the fact of trying to keep up means I'm more like this tree. 

I'm not a dead stump waiting to fall over and I'm not a rotted tree that has nowhere left to go. 

I have new growth in areas that I had not expected and I spent this year writing and editing more than I ever had before even if it wasn't on this blog. 

So if you're feeling relatively stumpy and need something new to embrace in the new year, embrace growth.