🏊 What’s flowing?

Book of TREE 2.18

All my life, I’ve been told that to be awesome I need to go against the flow. I get the sentiment. It’s essential to recognise that you can’t create something new and different if you are doing the same thing as everyone else. I’m also starting to think that the people who say ‘go against the flow’ fundamentally misunderstand what’s flowing.

When a weed grows through a crack in the concrete, is it going against the flow? No, the weed is the flow. It’s simply doing what plants have been doing for millions of years. The concrete is a temporary blockage.

Is healthy eating going against the flow? No, the flow of life is for living things to crave good nutrition. The blockage is the rapacious ultraprocessed food industry disguising slow-acting poison as the nutrition your body craves.

Is having good physical fitness going against the flow. No our bodies are built to move. Exercise is embracing your innate love of movement and giving yourself the ability to do it more. The blockage is a society that shoves humans indoors and sits them at desks to look at screens all day because it’s more convenient and tidy that way.

Is spending your time creating new and interesting things going against the flow? No. Look at the mind-bogglingly diverse beauty of this little planet we live on. Look at the strange, different, interesting things people do. Creativity is baked into life. The blockage is the odd and rather new idea that humans are merely consumers.

The flow is a deep current of thriving life. I prefer to go with the flow – over, around and through the blockages.

What? More The National live in Rome? Yes.

Can we all gather round in the FFOREST clearing for a moment, please? I need to say three things, two of which are ‘sorry’.

1. If you have commented in the last week-and-a-half and I haven’t replied, I’m sorry. I’ve been 150% busy with required things. And family starts showing up for Christmas tomorrow, so it could be a little while still before I get to them. Please don’t stop commenting. I’d love for you to talk amongst yourselves.

2. Friday’s post will be the last of 2024. I’m taking a couple weeks off for Christmas. TREE will be back in your inbox/app on 6 January.

3. If you are a founding member of FFOREST, I owe you a signed print. It was supposed to get to you in the autumn. It hasn’t. You will definitely get it, probably in February. I’m sorry for my tardiness. You deserve (and paid for) better.

Thanks for your patience
Jeff