After the Cutting

I recently had a number of trees removed from my property. I’ve had major damage to my house and some near misses from fallen trees, so this was a much needed, although expensive, undertaking. With the trees gone, so much more sunlight is visible from my windows and also available to my fledgling garden. I now have a clear view of things that were once obstructed.

Although the trees were cut down, the stumps still remained. Stump grinding is a separate service from tree removal. In life there is often residue after we cut out things or people. Reminders of what was previously there still remain. The trees in our lives can be bad habits or toxic relationships. They can be destructive behaviors or negative thinking.

Unless the stump is removed, nothing different can grow in that space. In some instances, new spouts from the tree that was cut down can emerge from the stump if it is not killed. It may be necessary for us to do some “stump grinding” in our personal spaces. Cutting down the problematic “trees” in our lives is a great first step, but let’s not stop there. Let’s remove the stumps so we can make room for new growth.

We cannot erase memories. However, there are times when we should remove physical reminders of things that once damaged us, but are now gone. It is easy to trip over stumps that are left behind after the cutting. Stump removal can be expensive, but it is an essential task in the tree removal process–even if we are not be able to do it all right away. Some of the stumps on my property have yet to be removed. But in the future, anyone looking at my yard will never know a tree once stood in the space currently occupied by a stump.