Speaker 1: It's not just something that I believe in. I live
with it daily. Creativity is an addiction, unplugged because we
will always say yes to creativity, totally uncut because we
all make mistakes. So turn it into a tool. This
is arrow unplugged. I write in a forest. I go
there to listen. What started at the Billigram Library in
twenty fifteen in Charlotte, North Carolina has evolved into a
lifelong commitment and journey. Something is moving through each and
every one of us at all times of the day.
It's our calling. These aren't my words. These are the
lyrics from Billy's Forest, chapter number three hundred thirty two,
September third, twenty twenty two. I spend a lot of
time inside this forest. Yesterday, fall is moving in too quickly.
You know the type of day. The weatherman says it's
going to be ninety one, and yet the late summer
breeze says something differently. I find peace in the atmosphere
when I touch the trees. They love to be looked at,
to be spoken to, and enjoyed. So many of them
were seedlings when we first met. And to the right
of the forest is a small area where cedar and
white pine are inches in height. To watch them grow
inspires the mind to hold onto the moments of sharing.
For any of this force to be present, it is
a series of challenges and changes, an open door of
untamed soil to create the paths by way of sharing.
Not all of the trees receive equal light and rain,
but they do share the same soil, that which I
feel blessed to be a part of. Embracing all that's
natural teaches the soul to love all living things, the
soil that we walk on. Do you ever think about it,
the trees that give you shade, or the trees that
protect you from storms wind. When you are inside a
moment of natural occurrence, do you listen? Because in reality,
we are receivers, and when we receive new things begin
to grow. But it's not for us to keep. It's
to share, just like the trees. The trees with the
drop leaves, and then when the trees get old they
fall to the ground. They feed the insects, and some
animals use it to keep warming during the winter. Putting
yourself in a moment of the bigger things such as nature,
gives you an opportunity to release yourself from what you
think is a big thing, your job, your marriage, the
troubles that you're having with your finances. Find yourself in
nature and listen to the way that things begin to grow.
Watch something as simple as a seedling become a seventeen
foot tree. When I walk into this forest, it's like family.
Where is your forest? Where is your place where you
can say, this is my mindfulness being present in this
place called now plant. Some seeds make something inside your home,
like a terrarium. The life of other living things is
a major part of your inner piece and growth. I marrily,
These are not my words. These are the lyrics from
Billy's Forest.