When the first lockdown hit New York City in 2020, freelance writer Max Falkowitz was stuck by himself. He’s single and lives alone, and Falkowitz was struck by how little he touched living beings anymore. He went from hugging friends to walking cautiously alongside them.

To take up his unwanted free time, Falkowitz decided to hunt for a hobby. He started with growing house plants but it wasn’t all-consuming enough. Bonsai, the Japanese art of cultivating tiny trees, seemed to be a specific enough venture, with enough depth that Falkowitz dove in.

Falkwotiz found that tending to his miniature cedars, redwoods, and pines, helped him feel better. He tells Tapestry that the experience not only brought him closer to an understanding of life and death, but brought him community.