Bonsai

I had to work a night shift on my birthday. Anyone who has worked night shifts will know the feeling they give you, that feeling of disconnection from the people who are normally around you. Feeling as though you are on a different schedule. 

After working my birthday night shift, I woke up in the afternoon, and decided to do a little solitary retail therapy. Maybe that's sad. I don't know.... I planned to pick up some cheap microwave popcorn, and I did, but I happened to come across a Grow Your Own Pine Bonsai Tree Kit in the same shop. It became a £3.99 birthday present to myself (I received some gifts and cards from others as well - no need to feel sorry for me!). 

I followed the instructions and the pine seeds are now wrapped in damp kitchen roll, stored away in my fridge - a process apparently called "stratification" - with the hope that they will begin to grow shoots, ready to be transferred to soil. I have been watching a number of videos on growing bonsai on YouTube because of this, and there I discovered there's a lot to this newfound hobby of mine. Now when I take a walk in my local area, I get these intense thoughts about the potential for the trees I see to be made into bonsai. I had to stop myself impulse-buying garden supplies. 

The reason why I bring all this up on this writing blog though is that I already have hobbies. The risk is that I adopt yet another hobby, but don't stick at any of them long enough to get to a considerable proficiency. I would like to get very good at writing. I like to think that it's more than a hobby, in that I would like to write work that others can appreciate. That is published and is a professional standard. One of my stories has already been published in a short story collection, which I'm very encouraged by. My goal with writing is to hone my skills, in order to serve others the way others have served me with their books.

This step I've taken with my birthday pine bonsai kit has been like beginning to see the same world with a new lens. Will I ever walk the streets and see trees in the same way again? Clearly it's easy to adopt new hobbies. The tricky thing is focusing enough to get good.

SI