Tree time
Helping Friendly Newsletter, 05.08.26
This season, look for a new post every Friday that will also be shorter, a.k.a. trying to do just one thing at a time. The format will vary (e.g. 5 things to consider, a bit of original writing, tiny book reviews, a visual collection, a treasure chest, or some other idea I’ve cooked up and want to try), but I hope they all feel like tiny presents you get to unwrap for the weekend. Thank you for being here, and cheers to good chaos!
GM! ☕️
Today the invitation is to hold two ideas simultaneously:
AWE:
the part of us that encounters a river, or mountain, or child, or bird, or tree, or sky, or transcendent art with breath suspended, awash with humility and overwhelmed by gratitude. Awe is what happens when we behold something so strange yet true that it becomes unlikely, otherworldly, and stunningly other.
and
BELONGING:
inner knowing that we are not estranged from, but profoundly connected to everything around us. To other humans, yes, but also every living thing and each place, moment, and reality that was or ever will be. To belong is to exist within the web of proximity that can be neither conferred nor commanded, nor refused. It simply and always is.
I am
beside myself
and
part of it all.
(Welcome to the church
of the perpetually perplexed.)
Confusion is normal.
It’s no wonder
we so often scratch and grab for control.
But no size or status,
no wealth or weapons,
and no cache of answers
can change the simple fact
of our existence together
on this planet.
Right here,
right now,
you and me.
You and me,
and the trees.
Tree Tunes
An epic banger:
For sensitive Deadheads and every “child of countless trees”:
Actual trees making music:
Now let’s float away on this entire vibe:
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ICYMI, two weeks ago I shared this hot take on the warm season.
Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you in your inbox again soon.
Peace,
P.S. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all the moms and mother figures out there, both alive on this planet and across the many planes of existence ❤️ LOVE and peace to everyone for whom this holiday is fraught or mournful or complicated ❤️ and EXTRA HUGS to my mom, Pat, to Gail and Amy, to my friends who keep me afloat even as they mother their own, to Andy for walking this parenting road beside me, and to my three babies for being exactly who they are. I love you so much.
This is really lovely! I like the way you interspersed the text and photos (and those photos are awesome). Glad to be existing and creating with you! ✨🌳
I love that family photo too!