Speaker 1: Creativity is an addiction, unplugged because we will always say
yes to creativity, totally uncut because we all make mistakes.
So let's turn it into a tool. This is arrow unplugged.
I write in a forest. I go in there to listen.
What started at the Billigram Library in twenty fifteen, right
here in Charlotte, North Carolina, has evolved into a lifelong
commitment and journey. Something is always moving through each and
every one of us. It's our calling. These aren't my words.
These are the lyrics from Billy's Forest, chapter number three
hundred fifty one, January fourteenth, twenty twenty three. A very
cold morning greeted Jazzy and I inside this forest this
morning in the South, we call it cold to the bone.
The dampness of the air combined with a temperature at
thirty five degrees with a light breeze. The squirrels don't
seem to mind. They're leaping all over from limb to limb.
It's a game of chase, tag. You're it, No, you're it.
There are no hawks at seven am, not even the
sound of a crow. The mountains have received snow, and
the rest of it feel as if we're standing in
front of a freezer with the door wide open. This
weather is actually good for the human being. The immune
system is activated, strengthening up our ability to fight off infections.
The flip side of the cold weather exposes a hidden truth.
Chili temps can trigger a person's level of depression. For plants,
cold weather lessens the risk of weeds, disease, and insects.
Cold to the bone in the forest this morning, opening
your eyes to its effects outside the shape of a
human makes taking walks inside this forest enjoyable. You physically
feel that you're part of something. Wow. Now that right
there is a moment when you feel like you're part
of something because so many of us are either introverts
or we like to just kind of shy away from
being with big groups. But to feel like you're part
of something other than just your neighborhood or your family,
part of something that affects and helps others in your
community to grow forward, to reach beyond where we stood yesterday,
to be a part of something. Sure, we've got this
forest right here in South Charlotte, North Carolina. I love
stepping out there and just listening to the wind as
it screams through the trees, or I'll go out there
looking for spiders and snakes and I end up bumping
into a four point buck or a fawn that is
still so tiny this time of year. Being a part
of something now, my question to you is what is
your something. That's a question that you've got to answer
on a personal level, because my something may not match
your something. But when we bring our somethings together, it
creates conversation. A very cold morning greeted Jazzy and I
in the forest this morning. To be a part of something,
it's time to identify your something. I'm Ryl. These aren't
my words, these are the lyrics from Billy's Forest.