‘Tenacity’ - Noun - Determined, Not giving up easily’

I have been reflecting on' Tenacity' and it has become a theme for this week. The definition given to the word is 'to be very determined and not give up easily'.

One of the things that brings me great joy is watching the birds in the garden. We have had swallows nesting in the shed along one of the beams. They had a small clutch initially and I could see two little chicks gaping their beaks awaiting their parents to return with grub.

We also have a pine marten knocking about the place. He has tossed bins, ransacked the fat balls feeder and left a trail of evidence that he's there, while remaining elusive.

What's this got to do with tenacity? Well, the swallows have been so committed to the rebuild of last years’ nest and the dedication to feeding the youngsters. I can't tell you how annoyed I was then to find one day that the pine marten had climbed the wall, and smashed the swallows nest to the floor, killing and eating the young.

From my human perspective, it felt wanton and mindless. I guess the pine marten is just doing what he must to survive - tenaciously scaling a nine foot wall to reach a small meal to sustain him.

Meanwhile, the swallows are being tenacious about rebuilding. They are in and out of the shed, in what appears to be a recon mission to secure a new site for their next nest, in the hopes perhaps of raising another clutch before the Summer is over.

Nature never ceases to inspire me. I'm drawing parallels between tenacity and resilience. There is this determination to move forward, despite set backs - to take advantage of situations, despite the challenge we face to reach the prize.

Sometimes set back are opportunities to pause, look around, and choose a different 'spot to build'. To reassess the direction we are going in, and to really focus in on what we need to do to get there.

I've applied this in a few ways recently. One example was when writing last weeks newsletter. Twice I lost the content from the template I was writing in. I was tight for time and felt a surge of stress rise in me. Taking a breath and pausing to reassess, I wondered about the content itself and was it a sign to take a different tack?

For the third attempt, I completely changed the subject and began to write. It flowed onto the page and everything went smoothly. The stress levels also reduced!

I invite you to take some time to reflect on what tenacity measn to you. How does it relate to what's going on in your life? Where do you see it showing up around you? and what can it support you with?

Thank you for reading my blog and for your company along the way.

Warm wishes
Miffy

Image - ‘Tenacious Tree’ - Dooney Forest, Co Sligo by Miffy Hoad

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