On the way home from a trip to Yosemite, I stopped into the Ancient Bristlecone Forest located east of Bishop, California.  This was some sort of a Pilgrimage for me.  As some of you may already know, I am the Publishing Editor of the Bristlecone newsletter.  Being in the Bristlecone Forest was a phenomenal experience for me. 

I was driving up a dirt road 22 miles off the main road.  The higher I climbed the more Bristlecone Pine trees I saw.  The Bristlecone Pine is the oldest living thing on earth.  The oldest tree is believed to be almost 5,000 years old.  Earlier this century one "intelligent" scientist, seeking to know the true age of these ancient trees found what he believed to be the oldest of the ancient trees.  So what else could he do but cut it down.  Yes, the idiot scientist cut it down.  Now they believe they have found the oldest surviving tree but the US Forest Service isn't about to tell anyone which one it is.  I can't say that I blame them. 

The Bristlecone survives in the harshest growing conditions.  They grow as high as 11,500 feet elevation.  The soil, rich in dolomite, will grow little else but these ancient Bristlecone trees.  It survives in drought, poor soil, freezing temperatures, and harsh winds.  It even thrives in these conditions.

As I reached the 11,000 foot elevation level, I was in awe of where I was.  I was among the oldest things on earth.  I began to make a real connection with how this name was chosen as the name for the newsletter.  The PCA skills necessary and sufficient for the conduct of all relationships.  The harsh conditions in which all of us relate to each other.  Relationships are as old of the trees that surround me.  In spite of the harsh conditions, the ancient Bristlecone pine has too found what is necessary and sufficient not only for its survival but for it to thrive.  The PCA skills are what makes relationships thrive.  My desire is for these skills to be a part of the conduct of relationships worldwide, that mankind will choose to thrive in these harshest conditions of life.