I fell out of a tree once. I didn't break anything however it hurt, a lot. One moment I was perched on a branch and the next I was free-falling, earthbound, wondering how much I was going feel the landing...The answer was not far away...Thud, whoosh, groan, swear...They were the sounds, in order, that emitted from me. The thud of the landing, the whoosh of air exiting my lungs, the groan of pain and the swear word for having fallen out of the tree. I won't repeat the word, it's uncouth. 

I can't recall what I was doing in the tree, probably playing a game of some sort with my brothers. Was I pushed? Yes, quite probably...Would I have deserved it? Of course not...OK, maybe just a little. 

There I was, gasping for breath, nursing a sore leg, shoulder and arm and looking at the tree that had so unceremoniously cast me out of its heights to the unmerciful ground like a fallen angel...And what did I do? I climbed back up.

Fast forward many years in life and I'm still falling out of trees, figuratively speaking of course.

I'm fortunate to have learned, or should I say *re-learned*, that overcoming failure and getting back up, tackling the task once more, is the best way to proceed in life. I say re-learned because as a child I didn't fear failure, that came later through learned behaviours and imprinting from parents, school teachers and other influencers who ensured I stayed will within the established borders of conformity which, of course, held me back. Can you imagine how much fun I would have missed out on had I not climbed back into that tree all those years ago?

Climbing back into trees isn't for everyone. There's many people who will fall out once, hit the earth with a resounding thud, only to look upon the tree with disdain, fear and quite often blame. They walk away mumbling to themselves that they didn't want to go in the stupid tree anyway...But possibly regretting that they never tried to climb up once again. Regret that endures for life, through opportunities lost.

Life can be like a tree and we don't have to look very far to find people who climb, fall and climb again, or climb fall and walk away in defeat. The thing is in life, as with trees, that we don't *always* fall. Sometimes we stay up, like in the tree. It requires effort of course but worthwhile things often take effort. Successful people are mostly always happy to apply it too...That's how they become successful. Sometimes our effort actually results in the desired result...Staying in the tree for instance.

Back all those years ago I didn't realise how profound climbing back up that tree may be in my life but years later I'm glad I was the sort of person who ignored the naysayers, forged a path of my own making and found the ability to apply effort and persistence to life. I don't climb trees anymore, not literally, however I climb back up when I fall, when life knocks me down, and continue to rise despite those setbacks. Life is too precious a commodity to throw away over a little setback.