When I was young, visits to my Grandma’s farm included climbing a huge old poplar tree with my cousins. The limbs made for an easy climb - until you looked down and realized how high you were. But it was worth it! We could see across our pasture, house, and road to way beyond the barn and fields of the next farm. This poplar grew taller than the other poplars and much higher than most everything else. I wondered then as I do now, what determines the height of a tree?
It turns out that what limits the height of a tree is the same thing that keeps us on the earth - gravity. The taller a tree grows, the harder it is to get water to leaves at the top. And those leaves have to be happy to ensure photosynthesis and overall tree health. There’s a formula for calculating the balance point between continuing to grow and the effect of gravity pushing back down. It turns out that the balance point equals the maximum height a tree can grow - around 400 feet. (Yes, Redwoods are the winners.)
Here’s how I see this tying into writing. As artists, we have an innate urge to create and grow our body of work. But there can be several factors weighing us down and slowing progress. Often these include the need to have a day job, take care of our family, and simply keep a roof over our heads. The tension between the desire to create and the pressures of daily living is something that we have to balance. We do this balancing to differing degrees through our creative life. The keyword is balance. As artists, being kind to ourselves is important as we struggle with finding the best way to achieve things important to us. Make as much time for your art as you can, remembering that even a few moments count towards your goal of sharing your unique gifts with others.
Seek wonder. Embrace joy!
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