I've always been fascinated with the messages people pass forward. We grow up thinking our parents are harsh by creating rules that were put out there to help protect us. As we evolved into adult clothing those sharp words were actually very valuable. How often do you turn around and thank the child you once were? I wouldn't be celebrating 42 years of broadcasting if it wasn't for that five year old locked up in his bedroom gripping tightly to his radio dreams. But one day, I'm going to have to turn and share the conversation. To thank him then say, "It's over." The same will be true with the writer in me. That kid in the second grade that convinced Mrs. Keefe that he would be a better student if she allowed him time every day to write. I continue to do so today. Everyday! What happens when I have to turn around to have that conversation? You too! Have you already had it? Then it occurred to me on this podcast. Is that what happens during the transition? The seconds before your final breath. You slowly turn and say, "Thank you."

I've never seen the forest stress out over change. The trees and tall grass treat it like a dance. As humans, why are we challenged by our roots. We consistently want to grow on the other side of the fence. Challenged are the inner creations that influence the mental behaviors of a mild ride on a railroad of process and purpose. When we are to be silent we find reason to locate an argument. With changes come fight. Learn from the limbs of a tall or small tree. Mindfulness allows the changing of all seasons to move through you. It's only one step on a very long journey.

Sitting within the unprotected environment of this forest. Unprotected yet it has bendability. How can the human learn from this? The roots beneath my feet are tied together in the way a net catches what has fallen. A tree could not stand without it's roots. What if we began to find strength in what's rooted inside our mind body's and souls? Learning to recognize where strength comes from gives us sight outside the systems of choice.

Locating your personal forest doesn't mean a collection of trees. When I speak of the forest it's that place of mindfulness and solitude. Walking beside a very busy street with a distant train on the horizon is very calming to me. So is checking in with a huge flock of very noisy black crow. With so much muck and crud in our lives since the lockdown, the idea of locating your personal forest is a set it aside decision because it's easier to deal with binge watching television or checking with a really bad Christmas movie. Find a place. Go there to just listen. Let the universe step into you then through you. Becoming part of the flow of process gives your inner soil every reason to believe in being replenished. Let life grow.

Sitting across from the very places where you learned of a very close person's passing. Not everyone can do that. Facing the departure. Walking without the weight of what you used to have. Learning how to live beyond. It requires a relationship with their spiritual energy. I find it to be very present while writing. It's your choice if you want others to see it. But keeping them present in your creative flow is a valuable source of keeping connected. The body may be gone but their vibrations are very much with you. Allow it to be part of your new steps growing forward.

Hey it’s Arroe. I’m a Poet. One that just happens to write in a forest.
In 2015 I stepped into a very special collection of trees at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC
While there. I did nothing but write. But they weren’t my words. They were The Lyrics From Billy’s Forest.
Nearly two years later God spoke to my heart. It was time to grow beyond the library, to write within other collections of trees. Mainly my forest in South Charlotte NC.
In every place I’ve written the spirit of Billy’s Lyrics vibrate the purpose and plan God put into play.
I never know what I’m going to write about when I enter these forest. Which gives us plenty of time in the end to talk about it.
These are not my words. These are the lyrics from Billy’s forest.

Looking at your emptiness through different points of sunlight. What if what you feel is emptiness in reality was openness?

November 2, 2021
I start this with a total set up. The commitment to make your way back to the very place you once shared your wedding vows. Even if you’ve been whittled back to being one. Being in that place isn’t living in the past but rather tapping into a source of energy. July 11, 2021 and every day before it for 28 years I’ve been in the very place where our vows were brought to the openness of the atmosphere. That day in this forest that which I live we shared our handwritten very personal one on one wedding words and expressions. It feels like the blink of an eye. Yet the tree line has changed. Limbs have broken. 28 seasons of leaves dancing in the fall wind. Poison Ivy vines thickened and nature’s animal kingdom has increased. But it didn’t happen in the blink of an eye. The deer didn’t suddenly arrive. The hawks with their beautifully constructed nests didn’t appear overnight. I’ve met several years of snakes but only one of them came with poison. In our vows my wife and I made it clear to those who attended that we weren’t there to create a promise. The day would forever represent a growing guarantee. Our shapes have changed. We aren’t perfect which means we face our challenges. The forest that which we shared our vows in has been with us the entire way. Because so much life has grown around us it proves that it was a day of not becoming one but place of continuation and universal partnership. Which is why I extend the challenge to you. Go be in the very place you once stood. Go there to view all that has changed including you. Look at what you were once part of. Take note of how and why you chose to be there. There’s a story. Share it or someone will write it for you.

What day will I return to this page? It's an interesting thought because it has the power to predict as well as pull you back into a past you can't change. Being present always wins because your inner censors can be kept under control. I asked on that day how much the forest will change when I return on a different day. The answer is everyday there is change.

October 12, 2021
A cool early summer breeze sweeps across my writing. The atmosphere of being present gives sight to my senses. Taking note of last night’s super moon. It was dubbed a strawberry moon. I stood watching as it slowly moved across the sky. It was so incredibly bright. I could see everything the forest was providing. Within our personal walk and way, are there moments of such clarity? What is your super moon? If we had such a perfect view how much would you change? We do it all the time in our front and backyards! It must look this way or it’s yanked. How much of your inner garden is lit up by a strawberry moon? An object that can no longer be missed. It travels with us. Just like a cool early summer breeze. If we were to choose to chase the breeze how far from our super moon will we grow? Will we find our way back? A fellow broadcaster once told me that each of us are given three life changing career decisions. The goal is to locate which one will truly be your calling. What walk did you take that has completely replanted your roots in a different soil and there’s no path to lead you back? Chasing podcasting in 2012 became my way of life by 2016. As big as it is around the world there are way too many choices for listeners. If I had known this nine years ago would the super moon have led me in a different direction? What choice did you make because a super moon cleared the debris? You jumped and there’s no way you can get back? In 1997 I began a creative journey with paint on a canvas. I really enjoyed seeing it in galleries then getting to know each and every new owner. By 2005 the art was featured in New Orleans. Bad show. Very bad show. I’ve not put paint on a canvas ever since. I can’t locate the super moon. Locating your super moon is one thing. Trust it means? How much are you willing to give?