I went past a piece of land full of baby pine trees today. Hundreds of tiny cute 2 to 3 foot tall trees. Adorable in their own right!
It was a stark contrast to the day prior, where we did a bush walk with many hundred year old Totarunga trees. Monsters of trees, with trunks so wide it reminded me of the California Redwoods I knew so well in San Francisco.
My mind makes the funniest connections in moments like this. Not something normal like “oh one day those baby trees will be as big as the old trees”. No, my mind thought “how amazing that people decided to plant these trees, knowing they will never see the true return on their investment”. As in… yes they likely got enjoyment from planting these trees, but they planted these trees not for themselves - but for the many generations of Kiwis that will follow.
I continued wondering… does this happen in America? Does reforestation exist in a land where a core value is to maximize profits and exploit efficiency? I feel like it must, but with a different ethos. One with strategy behind it. Where the people planting stand to see their stock value increase with the investment. Or they plant them knowing they’ll be big enough to re-harvest in 20 years, with gains big enough to merit the cost.
I think we somehow find safety in knowing the things we do will have a return on our investment. Even more so - a reasonably short return on our investment.
Why is this? What is the root of our discomfort with unknown return on any investment? I will admit, I do find it harder to do things just for giggles with a baby in tow. My time with her is precious, so all of a sudden I don’t want to “waste” it.
But after having done the bush walk yesterday … I can with certainty say the hundreds of years that forest took to grow were most certainly worth it. When at the outset, like the baby pines, it might have seemed a futile effort to hope that one day a bountiful forest could exist in that same spot.
This is my hope for my 2023. That I may overcome the need for everything to feel worth it. That I may stop needing a plan for everything, and a backup plan for every plan 😵💫
My words for 2023 are wander, create & play. It feels like a year of planting seeds, but not knowing what for. In simply seeing the planting as an activity that allows for me to get my hands dirty and play in the mud. To have conversations that meander, yet have a light & vibrant touch to them. It’s about not having a destination, but knowing joy in the present will lead me exactly where I want to go.
I exhale as I write this. I wish you the same as we approach the new year — as such, I’d love to hear your word, words or intentions for 2023 if you have them 💫
And a photo of the bush for good measure