Strong Arms

Yesterday on my way to my cousin’s Boxing Day breakfast I passed this tree and was compelled to stop and take its photo. It sat in the right hand corner of a garden in the home of people I did not know.

I stopped the car and grabbed my iPad. I am so thankful for the immediacy of technology, which can be such an invaluable resource to spontaneous creativity. I was immediately struck by the thickness of the trees stout, robust branches. Perhaps I want more of that solidness in my life and my work.

Taking in the tree through the camera lens I was captivated by the trees physical and energetic presence. It felt solid, sure of itself, yet humble and open.

Surveying its branches the following words came to me:

Strength, Resilience, Robust, Staying Power, Hardy, Solid, Hardworking, Reliable, Steadfast, Bold, Full Bloom. Mature, Endurance, Humble, Hardwearing, Steadfast, Huggable, Protective, Supporting

This is a practice you can do whenever you come across a tree you feel drawn to. Write down the words or images you associate or remind you of the tree.

I imagined what the trees roots would be like. In some of the books I’ve read about trees its reported that the labyrinth of a trees roots can sometimes be twice the size of it branches above ground. I visualized this trees root system surging through the soil beneath its feet for several feet.

There are a few ways you could use your words

1. Write down the words that remind you of the tree. What words do you associate with the tree? Brainstorm a list of your words.

2. Collect your words and write a poem about the tree.

3. Choose one or two words from your list and use as a focus for your day. Can you look at the word until it shines? This quote from an old post from Susannah Conway’s blog really helped me.

“I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one and I begin to look at it until it shines.” Emily Dickinson

Conway, S. (2006) Blog post

Today I have chosen the words “staying power” It begins with staying with writing this blog post and making sure that it’s gets posted before I head outside into the glorious sunshine.

4. Use your chosen words as writing prompts. The words “staying power” are stimulating ideas for a short essay about the staying power of my parents and their generation of Caribbean immigrants who planned to spend five years maximum in the UK in the early sixties before they returned to Barbados but who ended spending 40 years.

5. Use the image of the tree as a visual writing prompt. Free write for 10 minutes using the image of the tree as your starting point. Free writing is a writing technique where you write fast without stopping, writing down whatever comes into your mind. So you don’t need to write directly about the tree for the whole 10 minutes. Simply use the image of the tree as your starting point and then write freely about just anything.

6. Keep the image of the tree somewhere that is easily accessible to remind you of the words you want to use as focus words.