Speaker 1: Creativity is an addiction unplugged because we will always say
yes to creativity, totally uncut because we all make mistakes.
So why not turn it into a tool. This is
arrow unplugged. I'm a poet, one that just happens to
write in a forest. In twenty fifteen, I stepped into
a very special collection of trees at the Billygraham Library
right here in Charlotte, North Carolina. While there, I did
nothing but write. But they were never my words. They
were the lyrics from Billy's Forest. Nearly two years later,
God spoke directly into my heart. He said, dude, it's
time to go. It's time to get you into other
collections of trees, mainly your own forest in South Charlotte,
North Carolina. You see, in every place that I have written,
the spirit of Billy's lyrics vibrate the purpose and plan
that God has put into play. I never know what
I'm going to write about when I enter any forest,
which gives us plenty of time to talk about it
in the end. Remember, these aren't my words. These are
the lyrics from Billy's Forest, Chapter number three hundred and
fifty four, February fourth, twenty twenty three. This forest in
South Charlotte sits amazingly still, this new sun twenty eight degrees,
barely a leaf on the trees, The stream is frozen
on its shores, yet there's still that beautiful sun bright.
Look at it. It's so giving unless you want heat,
and it says not today the silent period between the seasons,
or is it a silent period? The extremely cold, slightly
above a breeze wind has a roar to its personality.
If this were summertime, it would just be just a
breeze rattling the green leaves on the trees like that
of a golf clap at a tournament. The one sound
I would love to check in with is that of
the squirrel as it's landing on a different tree. You
fall witness to the flight, But where's the sound of
the squirrel's claws gripping the tightly knitted bark of the tree.
I do try to listen for all living things, but
this is a forest, from distant hawks and owls to
chattering ducks on the nearby frozen lake. So much noise,
yet so calm. If I sat down to take a nap,
could I truly fall asleep? Where is your zone, that
place that you can step into to want to release
yourself from everything that reality has delivered by way of
your smartphone, by way of going to Instagram and TikTok.
Do you ever set aside the digital devices and allow
everything that is you to receive from the other things
that are around you, such as this forest in South Charlotte,
North Carolina. To hear that wintertime breeze with its little roar,
it gets inside your mind, body and soul, and it
reminds you of how cold are you to those that
stand near you? Are you providing warmth and conversation? Because
the sun is not It's twenty eight degrees, but it's there,
and I have to ask you sometimes, are you just there?
The beauty of winter is knowing that spring is on
the way. That's a guarantee. But there's even a bigger
meaning to the winter months. It is a time period
of rest. And yet when you sit in this forest
this morning, it's so noisy, or is it? I've always
laughed it off as being jazz. Look at how important
jazz has been to the formation of all genres of music.
Imagine if you could be right there in the center
of a very busy street. For some, that's your forest.
That's where you can go to let go, because that
gentle roar of all those cars, it just feels so
good to receive it. The forest sits amazingly still, this
new sun twenty eight degrees, barely a leaf on the trees.
The stream is frozen on its shores. Which part of
this painting is you, I'm arrow. These are not my words.
These are the lyrics from Billy's Forest.