Write About a Tree

Sometimes, the best way to understand ourselves is to write about something else.

One way to think about creative projection is taking something that lives inside us—our experiences, struggles, hopes, fears, and wisdom—and expressing it through a story.

Imagine a grandfather writing about an old avocado tree in his backyard.

For decades, that tree has endured storms and droughts. It has survived insects, disease, broken branches, and scorching summers. And yet, year after year, it continues to grow. It continues to provide shade. It continues to bear fruit that feeds the family.

On the surface, it is a story about an avocado tree. But perhaps the grandfather is really writing about himself. He, too, has weathered storms. He has suffered losses, disappointments, aches, and hardships. He has been bent by life without being broken by it. And now, in the later years of his life, he finds himself thinking less about what he has accumulated and more about the fruit he will leave behind. The tree becomes a metaphor for resilience, aging, purpose, and legacy.

Writers do this all the time. A novelist places pieces of herself into fictional characters. A painter puts grief into a landscape. A songwriter turns heartbreak into music.

And something remarkable can happen when we do this:

We don't just put ourselves into what we create. What we create can reveal something that was already inside us.

That is one of the unexpected gifts of writing a letter to your grandchildren.

You may begin writing because you want your grandchildren to understand you.

But somewhere along the way, you may discover that you understand yourself a little better, too.

So write the story.

Write the memory.

Write the letter.

You may leave your grandchildren something precious.

And in the process, you may discover something new and delightful about yourself.

(AI Assisted)