|
Hello friends, Years ago, writer Starhawk penned a novel in which city neighborhoods had fruit trees growing on the sidewalks, so anyone who was hungry could partake. It was a beautiful vision of a world we could live in, if we chose to. I now live in a city neighborhood with fruit trees growing on the sidewalk. Pear. Apple. Plum. Fig. Cherry. But, more often than not, the fruit falls and rots on the concrete in the sun. This happens unless the person who lives in the home near the tree gathers the fruit and puts a sign on it, inviting people to take and eat. Why is this? I sometimes wonder. There are unfortunately plenty of unhoused neighbors here, along with people I know must have food insecurity sometimes, especially as grocery prices have risen precipitously as a result of farm workers being kidnapped, caged, or deported. Then I realized a few things: One, people may not know the fruit is safe to eat. Okay. But mostly, I think people are afraid of taking something they think is not theirs. Despite the fruit growing freely, unfenced, in the open, it must belong to someone, right? Despite outright theft at larger levels, on the small, it is ingrained in us to not steal. To not take without permission. Sometimes, that is a good thing, but other times? We are left with ripe fruit rotting away. We must give each other permission to share, on both sides of the equation. If there is bounty on offer, we must say, “Please, come and eat!” And if we have something to offer, sometimes we feel to shy to share on our own, until someone else says, “Hey! I’d love to see what you’ve been working on. Will you show me?” Which side of the equation are you on right now? Do you have something to offer that you feel too timid to share? Or do you see something you’d like to partake in, but have felt too scared to ask? This week, I hope we give ourselves more permission and soften some unnecessary boundaries. We just might all be the richer for it. Best wishes — Thorn
|
Hello friends, On a walk in the soft rain of the atmospheric river that just arrived to the Pacific Northwest, I saw two small maple trees whose leaves had already turned orange-red. Some of the maples in the neighborhood are still green, or just turning yellow, but these two were in full autumnal celebration mode. So, of course I walked across the street to get a closer look. When I looked up, I was delighted at the display. The leaves looked like ethereal dancers, turning this way and that,...
Hello friends, I was at a magical event with old friends and new last weekend, in the woods of Northern California. In some parts of space were big hearts made of slate slabs. The thing I liked about these hearts were that: Being made of slate, the hearts could support weight. Someone had taken the time and effort to carve the shapes. The hearts had clearly been nestled in the earth for years, greeting everyone who walked by. All of this was a reminder to me that a little inspiration and...
Hello friends, I’m in the woods right now, with a group of friends, both old and new. There are deer here, small, gentle ones with large ears. The deer keep their distance, but not so far that I cannot read the glint in their eyes, or catch the curious fan of those ears. These deer are not tame. They just live in a world where the potential for harm is slim. For deer to live so unafraid means this is a sheltered place. A place they have learned to be slightly wary of the lumbering, two legged...