Burl – 2 Traveling Dogs

This is Sheriff Peanut Butter Brickle. Everywhere we go, I carry around this tail.

This corn dog tail.

This tail has brought on a lot of questions in my life. I suppose that I only know the answer to if I was born with my tail like this. Although the vet person says I was, I will not confirm nor deny this. I prefer it to be a mystery like everything else about me.

But my corn dog tail is special. This is not a mystery. And even though it may look different than what persons think a tail should look like, that’s their opinion. And only an opinion. It’s like the trees we have encountered on our hikes lately in this Tennessee place.

Yes. They may look different than other trees. They may have growths on them. And yet, they are beautifully imperfect. Beautifully unique. Beautifully themselves. Beautiful special. Extra special.

Burls can grow on trees for different reasons. It could be due to an injury or a virus or a fungus. It is usually a round growth. Kind of like when you get hurt like with a cut and you get a scab. Like that.

And even though the tree may look different to persons, the burl is actually prized for its beauty and patterns when it is cut off the tree. But what most persons don’t know is that when you cut it off the tree, the tree has a very hard time healing or recovering from that. So my take? Leave them alone.

I’m not sure when persons decided they had a right to take whatever they wanted. Just like I’m not giving up my corn dog tail, I doubt that the trees want to give you their extra special imperfection.

I can’t imagine our hikes lately without the burls. I’m happy their character hangs on the trees like a medal. It shows their resilient and that underneath their injuries lies their beauty. Yes. Yes. Like all of us.

Never let anyone tell you you should live up to their standard of perfection or what’s normal. You know what lies underneath. Your beauty is defined by your experiences. Not your outside. Don’t let persons into your life that don’t appreciate your beauty. Don’t settle.