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Speaker 1: It's not just something that I believe in. I live

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with it daily. Creativity is an addiction, unplugged because we

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will always say yes to creativity, totally uncut because we

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all make mistakes. So turn it into a tool. This

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is arrow unplugged. I write in a forest. I go

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there to listen. What started at the Billigram Library in

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twenty fifteen in Charlotte, North Carolina has evolved into a

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lifelong commitment and journey. Something is moving through each and

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every one of us at all times of the day.

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It's our calling. These aren't my words. These are the

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lyrics from Billy's Forest, chapter number three hundred thirty two,

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September third, twenty twenty two. I spend a lot of

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time inside this forest. Yesterday, fall is moving in too quickly.

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You know the type of day. The weatherman says it's

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going to be ninety one, and yet the late summer

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breeze says something differently. I find peace in the atmosphere

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when I touch the trees. They love to be looked at,

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to be spoken to, and enjoyed. So many of them

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were seedlings when we first met. And to the right

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of the forest is a small area where cedar and

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white pine are inches in height. To watch them grow

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inspires the mind to hold onto the moments of sharing.

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For any of this force to be present, it is

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a series of challenges and changes, an open door of

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untamed soil to create the paths by way of sharing.

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Not all of the trees receive equal light and rain,

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but they do share the same soil, that which I

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feel blessed to be a part of. Embracing all that's

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natural teaches the soul to love all living things, the

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soil that we walk on. Do you ever think about it,

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the trees that give you shade, or the trees that

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protect you from storms wind. When you are inside a

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moment of natural occurrence, do you listen? Because in reality,

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we are receivers, and when we receive new things begin

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to grow. But it's not for us to keep. It's

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to share, just like the trees. The trees with the

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drop leaves, and then when the trees get old they

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fall to the ground. They feed the insects, and some

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animals use it to keep warming during the winter. Putting

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yourself in a moment of the bigger things such as nature,

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gives you an opportunity to release yourself from what you

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think is a big thing, your job, your marriage, the

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troubles that you're having with your finances. Find yourself in

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nature and listen to the way that things begin to grow.

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Watch something as simple as a seedling become a seventeen

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foot tree. When I walk into this forest, it's like family.

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Where is your forest? Where is your place where you

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can say, this is my mindfulness being present in this

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place called now plant. Some seeds make something inside your home,

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like a terrarium. The life of other living things is

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a major part of your inner piece and growth. I marrily,

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These are not my words. These are the lyrics from

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Billy's Forest.