Spitting Cherry Seeds

Hey, Good Morning; it’s Tyler Head.

Another week of being with people. Gahhhhlee - what a gift…… and a challenge.

How was your week? Who'd you learn from? Who'd you sit with for too long? What'd you learn?

Here's a quote from The Good Earth by Pearl Buck "And roots, if they are to bear fruits, must be kept well in the soil of the land."

I wonder if you spit cherry seeds out the window while driving, would it later yield a cherry tree?

This week I spit 17+ cherry seeds out of my car window. I did this while driving. Shortly after, I sat glued to a picnic table bench in conversation with a dear friend.

Having my sister in town a couple of weekends back was magnificent. There is so much life in her sweet green eyes. Much life lived and much life to be had. But it's also there where she hides. Maybe it's there behind our eyes, where we all hide.

I know, I do.

Hiding behind our eyes is a habit most of us have developed over time.

I am learning to live in relationships with others where we don't have to hide. I think you can too. We can, together.

Here's how spitting cherry seeds and dwelling at a picnic table taught me a bit more about the gift of being with and being be'd with……

I hope this Friday's writing finds you well; like most, this has evolved over the week.

The other day, on my way to meet a friend at a coffee shop with outdoor picnic tables - I spit a bunch of cherry seeds out of my window. They sat in my passenger seat, ripe, juicy, and dense with flavor. They were the ones with pits too. I love having a snack or cool drink to sip or chomp on as I drive in the morning. Really an excellent way to start the day.

I recommend sipping/chomping while driving. But only at stoplights if you're reading this, Katherine, Mom, and other safety-steve's out there - Thanks for being you 😉 

This morning at every stoplight, I pulled a cherry out of the container by its stem, dismembered it from the stem, and chewed around the seed. Then I spit the seed out of my window. I repeated this process 17ish times within 4-5 miles. From my house to a local coffee joint in the Springfield area called Kingdom Coffee - the one on Lonepine. If you don't know it, let's go sometime.

When I arrived, I chuckled out loud as I thought about the cherry seeds that now highlight my morning trek from home to coffee shop.

I let my mind wander down my cherry-seed-riddled road and thought much about relationships. Better yet, the practice of being with and being bed with. Relationships come in all shapes, sizes, speeds, time frames, and depths. They require presence, invite honesty, and are cultivated by gentleness. Ever-changing organisms, relationships are.

The dear friend I was meeting with this morning is the type of friend you can jump straight into life updates quickly and gently - without reluctance. The wild thing is we have yet to spend a ton of time together. But when we do, it's easy. He's the kind of fella who waits patiently for you to put your phone down. I believe he does this purposefully; it's a gift. He knows in his heart that relationship takes two present parties.

Glued to the picnic bench, we meandered through updates, dreams, frustrations, and visions of the future. Then we looked down at our wrists to realize our clocks were moving us elsewhere. So we smiled and parted ways.

Until next time.

You and I can drop them - maybe even roll down our windows and spit them out.

Or we don't. And it stays locked behind our beautiful eyes.

This morning, I spit 17+ cherry seeds between 4-5 miles, marking my route from home to coffee shop. While I sat there glued to a picnic table, Some seeds had fumbled into a ditch, some were picked up by a critter, and still, some were picked up in conversation, heard, replanted, or gently silenced.

Or we don't. And it stays locked behind our beautiful eyes.

There are probably far more than 17 cherry seeds that mark your journey up until now - however, one thing that took root this week for me is that as relationships come and go - we are presented with chances to help others see that it's okay if some seeds roll into the ditch or get eaten up by critters, and that some can be remembered and replanted for a new tree to grow.

What's wild about this beautiful life is that eventually, as we learn to let out what we hide behind our eyes, we pause more and look back to see who's decided to pick those seeds up. Care for them. Or even plant them.

So whether you are glued to a picnic bench, spitting seeds out the window, or simply headed to work this morning - be reminded that being with and being be'd with asks for presence, invites honesty, and is cultivated in gentleness.

Talk again soon!

Thanks for being you.

Just a reminder: If this provokes a response in you — feel free to type it out, send it over, and I’ll read it. Or type it out and save it for later.

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