Beaverwood Christmas Tree

I have taken to spreading Christmas cheer in the following fashion: I visit the beach, find a beaver-gnawed willow with multiple branches, collect shells, kelp, rope, beer cans, feathers, rocks, dead crabs, lighters, fishing line, shotgun casings, and other flotsam and jetsam, and then plant the tree along a trail or access point. A few seconds of decoration and I have a wondrous Christmas tree that may or may not stand a day.

It doesn’t matter. It might be long enough to make a little or large difference in someone’s life. A simple smile can begin a journey anywhere inside a human heart. Near the ocean might be best.

What I find interesting is that when I return to a decorated tree, someone has always added a new decoration. They went to the beach, found something, and brought it back to the tree.

That took thought and effort. That thought and effort had occupied part of a person’s mind. They wanted to contribute.

I think everyone does in some way. Sometimes it just has to be prompted or nudged.