Here we go…

The Book of TREE – Introduction

I realised in December that I had finished writing TREE. It felt complete. I knew I wanted to keep writing to you and I didn’t know what else to do, so I kept writing TREE. In March I tried a new direction that wasn’t what I actually wanted. Then, with Christine’s help, I admitted to myself what I needed to do and spent the month of May doing it.

Now we’re back together and this is what we’re back to: I’ve organised TREE into four chunks of 90 posts that each cycle through the 20 topics I wrote about from September 2020 – April 2024. We will move through those posts with breaks for guest authors and FIELD GUIDE.

My reason for choosing the best of TREE, reordering it and posting it again is that writing it changed my life. Over the last 3½ years I have
broken free from social media
seriously improved my diet and exercise habits
gotten a new job
moved from North Wales to South West England
started learning British Sign Language
built a strong writing habit

The thing – I don’t know what metaphor to use – the surfboard between me and the waves, the roots that drew nourishment from the soil, the scaffolding that enabled the construction – the thing around and between and under all this growth and change was writing TREE. Grappling with the ideas, figuring out how to say what I meant was what got the message deep into me and made it useful.

So as we head back into the FFOREST, I encourage you to engage with the posts by writing or sharing with others. This could be in your journal, in your own blog, in the comments, forwarding to friends with your ideas added – whatever works for you. Writing goes deeper than just reading.

Tomorrow’s post will be The Book of TREE 1.1. Guest posts will continue the original TREE numbering.

Skyler and I will update you on the new FFOREST project we have brewing as soon as we can. It will be a few weeks at least.

Good news: new music from Magdalena Bay

Grow slowly
Jeff