If you’ve ever heard of or experienced the Santa Ana winds in California you have a sense of their destructive nature. But I have my own story about these winds, and I suppose a different perspective.

When I was five or six, my family was living in Pasadena, California. I was in first grade. I remember this particular day when the winds were howling something fierce. I usually walked to school – just down the street, make one turn and the school was a short distance up that road. Because of the winds, my father drove me to the end of the street and dropped me off on his way to work.

What seemed like a five-minute walk soon turned into a conundrum of major proportions (in the eyes of a five-year-old). You see, the wind had blown over a very large tree, right across the road. I didn’t know what to do! I stood there and stared at that tree for a few minutes, but it felt like forever.

Soon, another child came along. He, without hesitation, walked AROUND the tree! The top of the tree touched the other side of the road, so it was not difficult to manage this feat. I promptly followed his lead, going around the tree and proceeding to school.

I clearly remember telling my family later of my harrowing ordeal. And obviously, it made an impression on me if I can still recall it is such detail.

Life is like that though. Sometimes unexpected trees fall in our path, and while we contemplate how to climb over them, someone comes along to show us how to go around them. We could, of course, choose to go straight over the top, and sometimes that is actually the best way. But isn’t it nice to have options? And isn’t it nice to have other people help us with those options?

If you find trees in your path, look around, look beyond the trunk and leaves right in front of you. And if you have a friend who has a tree in front of them, help them over or around it!