Arroe Collins Forest Stories

Fall isn't just known for its unbelievable display of colors and cooler temperatures. It's also, for many, a sign of things coming to an end. It causes depression, anxiety and departure issues. What if we looked at the life beyond the walls of fall?

We all get a gut feeling. Most of the time that gut feeling is a negative or it's coming from someone who has never walked an inch in your shoes. Facing your gut feelings...

There are no two forests the same, yet you can celebrate their presence the very same as your favorite collection of trees. Just be aware of where nature is presently standing with its own plan and decisions.

Two years after Helen hit North Carolina, the cities and roads have been repaired but have the inner wounds of the people who managed the land? A moment in history captured by a poet's pen in the way of knowing what's happened to his own collection of trees.

My third-grade teacher preached to us every day, "Your desk is what your real life looks like. If it's cluttered and difficult to locate things in...ummm that's also your world away from the desk."

When I first entered this forest in 1992 the lower section of the 95 foot drop in the hill was blessed with ample amounts of wild blueberries. My daughter chose to make this is favorite reading place. Today, they're all gone. But not the memories planted inside our growing forever.

We rarely speak of the before effects of an everyday world. We'll spend hours and endless amounts of money on the repair but hardly if ever on the steps leading toward.

When solitude reaches back to bite us. Those places or moments that invite so much love for our inner soul and they come with a twist in the plans. Are we being selfish with nature when we refuse to walk in the rain?

We have never erased our daughter's presence as a teen from our home in this forest. The moment you step into her room you're taking a time machine back to the early 1990's. Let the children play. Then save it beyond forever.

A lot of American businesses are locked in on cleaning house. People are getting laid off or fired. The laziest thing anyone can say is, "I didn't see it coming." Not true! The signs were there. Now what? Go with the flow. That old job was a rock in your stream getting in your way. You didn't lose anything. They did! Winning is a choice. Don't make the decision to quit on yourself.