Oak Tree Love Note

Late in the fall of 2018 I collected many acorns from a dainty oak tree near my work without any real idea what I was going to use them for. I looked up the mythology of acorns and learned that northern European folklore believed an acorn placed in the window sill would protect the home and its occupants from storms. About that time I noticed my little kodama (forest spirit) mascot wearing the acorn hat I had glued to its head a while back and this was my “aha!” moment. I would create a tribe of kodamas with acorns, some wearing acorn hats and some sitting or standing near acorns. Each one would be designed thematically with the recipients who would receive them as holiday gifts and, hopefully, the recipients would place them near windows to protect their homes from winter’s nasty weather.

Fast forward to this morning. In the never ending battle for a parking spot I managed to find one near the little oak tree that offered so many acorn gifts a few months before. I thanked the tree and said I needed to park my car nearby in an awkward spot, one where I wasn’t quite sure if it was a legal place to park. In my mind I asked the tree to please keep a safe eye on my car and protect it from harm and the naughty parking ticket guy. When I returned in the afternoon to move my car I found a curled up, oak tree “love” note leaf resting gently on my windshield. What a tender gesture I told the tree. Carefully I plucked the leaf from the window and brought it in the car.

I moved my car to a new parking spot, near a building that typically has a lot of heavy energy around it. Most days I spot federal security vehicles parked outside, looking big, and overbearing with their dark, tinted windows. There are always a number of homeless people wandering around it as well. I brought the oak leaf to one of the trees near this sad feeling building and placed it lovingly at the foot of the tree. It seemed like the right thing to do: keep the love notes flowing where needed. Just the day before, near this same spot, I shared half of my mandarin orange with a homeless gentleman and gave him a gift card for a warm drink at the local cafe.

Lately folks are very tired of the snow, of being sick, and all the heavy, convoluted energy that’s run amok in the collective consciousness. My hope in sharing these Love notes is to remind us we always have the choice and opportunity to share kindness. It’s the little acts of love that add up to big relief in a weary world.