Watering The Trees That Were Never Planted

Watering The Trees That Were Never Planted

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago…”

Afternoon walks have become a welcome break in my work day. It’s a time to simply disconnect from the demands and pressures of the day and reconnect with me. If only for a little while.

On what has become my preferred route, I pass by a stately old home, subtly accentuated with the charming architectural design elements you’d expect to see in a home of this stature. The trees on this property stand equally majestic, beautifully asymmetrical and strong.

It was on a recent walk when I noticed one of the branches on the largest tree in the yard. With the branch running almost parallel to the ground my initial thought was how perfect that branch would have been for a tree swing.

Growing up we had such a swing in our yard, a simple wooden board for the seat supported by two long ropes wrapped around a supportive branch above. Hours were spent on that swing. It was an iconic symbol of my childhood and my intention was to someday re-create the same Continue reading “Watering The Trees That Were Never Planted”

When There’s Nothing To Look Forward To

When There’s Nothing To Look Forward To

The future has always been a utopian distraction from the present. The future is where hopes and dreams and aspirations all reside, a perfect escape from the mundane nature of where we can find ourselves right now.

But what if there was nothing to look forward to?

Could I be at peace, at least for a moment, if all there was in my life was that which was already around me?

I’ve been a runner most of my life, running from what was towards what I wanted it to be, only to be consistently disappointed when I got there. Undeterred, I’d then find something else to run toward, convinced that this time would be different while intuitively knowing the disappointment would be waiting for me when I got there.

And it always was.

You can never outrun the present moment, no matter how good you are at running.

When we’re focused solely on the future we do so at the expense of the present. When our Continue reading “When There’s Nothing To Look Forward To”