The tree in your acorn 🌳🌰

When the student is ready, the teacher appears.

Or something like that.

I've twice before attempted to read this book:

It was like I knew there was something in it for me, a box of mystery waiting to be unlocked. There's a key right there, ffs!!! But I could not ingest one swallow of it, no matter how hard I wanted to. Until, that is, attempt Number Three, and now it's going down like a cold glass of watermelon juice.

I've only just begun (again) so no spoilers, but the gist (who am I kidding, there's no "gist") is that every human soul enters with an acorn and every acorn contains a grand and beautiful oak tree. It is inherent and unequivocal. Often the acorn will show its intentionality when we're children and sometimes, the nudge can be so sharp that it will topple the child into awareness, like in a prodigy or a child that has very specific requests, makes definitive choices. But for most of us, it's only in reflection that we can see the acorn attempting to make itself visible.

That's some box of fucking mystery, right? I've had honest-to-goddess tears every time I've sat down to think about little Sondra and her acorn.

I've read up to where the writer will explain that there are no winners, losers or victims here. Whatever tree you grow from your acorn, it's yours and it is beautiful. When I look at the above photo, I see three humans who have all suffered differently from mental illness: one died without ever receiving care, one has schizophrenia, one self-medicated with alcohol until she stopped. That describes a few branches of each of our trees, but it isn't the whole, magnificent tree. What I also see is that I'm gleefully donning this bonnet that for all practical purposes was choking me and that may say something about my acorn.

I've also been extra astute to my own children and their acorns. I don't know definitively that I've seen shape and color of their acorns, but maybe. Max told me when he could barely say words (and with a speech impediment, words that only I could understand), "Mom, I am not your puppet." And Chloe has always shook off pain like a dog shakes off water, like she'll "get knocked down and get up again, ain't ever going to keep her down" (come on, Chumbawamba!) without one tear---pre-preteen hormones, anyway. I'm content not knowing what their beautiful trees will look like. I guess I like boxes of mystery.

With the shift back to sustainable design and making, I think my tree is reflecting my acorn. Sometimes you can be so IN IT that it's hard to see things objectively, but I'd like to think that my sturdy and stunning tree is still growing.

I'd love for you to check out what I've been making! I gave a few fun biz facts over on IG and the caftan in the reel is on sale here. The robe is listed in my Marketplace too! The colors are Spring's siren call, like leaves bursting out of branches, like my tree, waking up from a long nap.

xoxo

PS. THE UNRUFFLED PODCAST IS BACK! Please listen to our 200! episode and our FOUR YEAR celebration! Thanks for your continued support during our pause, and we're so excited to be back with new energy, new schedule and new content.