1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,359
Speaker 1: Creativity is an addiction, unplugged because we will always say

2
00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,960
yes to creativity, totally uncut because we all make mistakes.

3
00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:10,240
So let's turn it into a tool. This is arrow unplugged.

4
00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:13,320
I write in a forest. I go in there to listen.

5
00:00:13,759 --> 00:00:16,359
What started at the Billigram Library in twenty fifteen, right

6
00:00:16,399 --> 00:00:19,199
here in Charlotte, North Carolina, has evolved into a lifelong

7
00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:23,239
commitment and journey. Something is always moving through each and

8
00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:26,039
every one of us. It's our calling. These aren't my words.

9
00:00:26,199 --> 00:00:29,399
These are the lyrics from Billy's Forest, chapter number three

10
00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:33,119
hundred fifty one, January fourteenth, twenty twenty three. A very

11
00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:37,000
cold morning greeted Jazzy and I inside this forest this

12
00:00:37,119 --> 00:00:40,280
morning in the South, we call it cold to the bone.

13
00:00:40,399 --> 00:00:43,079
The dampness of the air combined with a temperature at

14
00:00:43,079 --> 00:00:46,399
thirty five degrees with a light breeze. The squirrels don't

15
00:00:46,399 --> 00:00:49,079
seem to mind. They're leaping all over from limb to limb.

16
00:00:49,439 --> 00:00:53,000
It's a game of chase, tag. You're it, No, you're it.

17
00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:56,359
There are no hawks at seven am, not even the

18
00:00:56,399 --> 00:00:59,479
sound of a crow. The mountains have received snow, and

19
00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:01,159
the rest of it feel as if we're standing in

20
00:01:01,159 --> 00:01:03,439
front of a freezer with the door wide open. This

21
00:01:03,479 --> 00:01:06,159
weather is actually good for the human being. The immune

22
00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:09,920
system is activated, strengthening up our ability to fight off infections.

23
00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:13,400
The flip side of the cold weather exposes a hidden truth.

24
00:01:13,599 --> 00:01:17,359
Chili temps can trigger a person's level of depression. For plants,

25
00:01:17,439 --> 00:01:20,680
cold weather lessens the risk of weeds, disease, and insects.

26
00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:24,560
Cold to the bone in the forest this morning, opening

27
00:01:24,599 --> 00:01:26,959
your eyes to its effects outside the shape of a

28
00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:31,439
human makes taking walks inside this forest enjoyable. You physically

29
00:01:31,519 --> 00:01:35,000
feel that you're part of something. Wow. Now that right

30
00:01:35,079 --> 00:01:38,200
there is a moment when you feel like you're part

31
00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:41,439
of something because so many of us are either introverts

32
00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:44,000
or we like to just kind of shy away from

33
00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,280
being with big groups. But to feel like you're part

34
00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,000
of something other than just your neighborhood or your family,

35
00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:55,239
part of something that affects and helps others in your

36
00:01:55,239 --> 00:01:59,959
community to grow forward, to reach beyond where we stood yesterday,

37
00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,920
to be a part of something. Sure, we've got this

38
00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:06,239
forest right here in South Charlotte, North Carolina. I love

39
00:02:06,319 --> 00:02:08,800
stepping out there and just listening to the wind as

40
00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:12,159
it screams through the trees, or I'll go out there

41
00:02:12,199 --> 00:02:14,840
looking for spiders and snakes and I end up bumping

42
00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,599
into a four point buck or a fawn that is

43
00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:21,520
still so tiny this time of year. Being a part

44
00:02:21,759 --> 00:02:24,879
of something now, my question to you is what is

45
00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,199
your something. That's a question that you've got to answer

46
00:02:28,199 --> 00:02:30,680
on a personal level, because my something may not match

47
00:02:30,719 --> 00:02:33,960
your something. But when we bring our somethings together, it

48
00:02:34,039 --> 00:02:38,360
creates conversation. A very cold morning greeted Jazzy and I

49
00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,199
in the forest this morning. To be a part of something,

50
00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:47,479
it's time to identify your something. I'm Ryl. These aren't

51
00:02:47,479 --> 00:02:50,439
my words, these are the lyrics from Billy's Forest.