The Resilience of the Stump: What Growth Really Looks Like

I was walking through my neighborhood the other day, just taking in the quiet, when something made me stop in my tracks.

An old tree stump—clearly cut down long ago—sat off to the side of the sidewalk. But what caught my eye wasn’t the weathered wood or the rings marking time. It was a single, tiny green sprout—fresh, alive, and pushing upward. Not from the center, but from the edge of the stump. It felt like it was speaking directly to me.

🌱 Getting chopped down hurts.

We all know what it feels like to be cut down. Whether it’s a job loss, a toxic workplace, a health crisis, a broken relationship, or the quiet accumulation of daily stress—it can level us. At Silver Linings International, we talk often about trauma, resilience, and the subtle power of post-traumatic growth.

This was it, right in front of me.

I’ve been through seasons like that—when everything familiar falls away and I’m left staring at the raw edges of what used to be. The healing doesn't come quickly. The regrowth doesn’t start big. In fact, it often begins on the edge, in the smallest, most unlikely corners of our being.

But I’ve learned: we do grow. And we never come back the same.

We come back with more compassion. With greater wisdom. With clarity about what really matters and who we want to become.

That little sprout reminded me of the very heart of our work at Silver Linings International. Whether it's through our Trauma-Informed Supervisor Course, Cultivating Emotional Intelligence for Leaders, or Trauma-Informed Motivational Interviewing programs, we help people re-root. We equip professionals—especially those in leadership, human services, and care-centered roles—to recognize trauma’s impact and respond with empathy, structure, and strength.

We believe in what we call regenerative leadership—a way of leading that doesn’t just survive adversity, but grows deeper because of it. It’s about creating spaces where people are seen—where healing and new growth are not just possible, but celebrated.

So if you’re in a season of being cut down right now, I hope you’ll hold on. Give yourself time. Be patient with what’s trying to grow.

And if you see someone else—maybe a colleague, a youth you serve, or someone on your team—starting again, say something. Witness their growth. Name their strength. That kind of presence is more than encouragement—it’s hope.

That little stump reminded me of all this—and I knew I had to share it.

If this resonates with you, or you’re looking for ways to deepen your own healing-informed practice, we’d love to walk alongside you. Visit us at SilverLiningsInternational.org to explore upcoming courses and trainings.

Because resilience isn’t just about bouncing back

it’s about growing into who we were always meant to be. 🌿