Tree Hair

This is Peanut Butter Brickle. Have you ever sat so long in one place that you felt like a tree? No, not in a location. I mean stuck in your ways.

Me, well, I am stuck in my ways. I don’t want to budge the way I feel. Some might just call me stubborn. And I might as well have grown hair like all the trees around here in this Jekyll Island, Georgia place that are stuck on the trees.

It is amazing what you can learn about yourself when you notice the things around you. And I notice a lot. Because I am slower these days.

Digby is too. And that’s more than ok.

Here in the south, there is a lot of what they call Spanish Moss. Girl Person says it’s not actually moss. It’s not from Spain. It is pretty complicated.

But aren’t the things that are a little more complicated the most fun to learn about? Spanish Moss grows on the trees so much because it gets its nutrients from the air. It gets all it needs because of so much moisture.

Some persons think that it harms the trees, but it does not. It is kind of like their hair! It adds to their beauty and the two live together in harmony.

But we are not tree hair. When we get stuck in one place emotionally and don’t budge or take the time to learn and expand our viewpoint, or even consider another viewpoint, we don’t live in harmony with those around us.

We are just stuck. With no purpose but being stuck.

What is it that you are so sure about? For me, I am sure that I love my family, and I always want to protect them. I want to protect them so much that I often don’t give others a chance to a be my friend. I am so glued to my family I don’t see much else.

I may bark too much at a stranger without first giving them a chance. Or I may immediately feel annoyed by even the smallest interruption in my day.

But when I take the chance to get to know someone, I am often surprised. Still slightly annoyed, but surprised.

There is a lot we can learn when we budge a little bit. There is a lot we are missing out on when we don’t. We won’t grow Spanish Moss. But we will grow even more stuck in our ways, less kind and even detrimental to other’s happiness around us.