On Acorns

Yesterday, I was out for a walk and, as usual, I was contemplating life when an oak tree basically threw an acorn at me. It landed at my feet, and I had the good sense to pick it up and take it home. It was a special day, an important day, and I needed some way to mark it. God (or Good) delivered, as usual. 

Today, on the same walk, I should not have been surprised when the same thing happened to me. Another acorn at my feet, and again, I picked it up and brought it home, because, well, why wouldn’t I? 

The cynics among us, we poor retched souls that are very attached to our negative, faithless beliefs, are probably thinking, This dumb lady is walking under an acorn tree and trying to make something out of nothing. 

Well, first of all, sure, maybe, and why does it matter if I am? 

And second, what I realized upon picking up the second acorn was that it was a reminder of how much life has to offer, if we simply let it. There is just so much to this world and life experience. It really is abundant in terms of growth or opportunity or chance, if we allow it, but most of us are far too quick to turn such things down or dismiss them or, unfortunately, even sabotage them somehow. 

Someone compliments us on a nice shirt, and we say, This old thing?

We do well at work, we get credit for it, and we still manage to think, I could’ve done it faster or worse, yeah, but why did Jane get promoted last month instead of me? 

Our partner tells us we are beautiful, and we say, Thanks, honey, I just wish I could lose ten pounds. 

Someone offers us help and we say No, thanks, I can do it myself. 

Sigh. How many face palms do you have time for right now? 

I picked up the acorn because I found myself amused and thinking, Wait, there’s more?! I wanted a memory of that sentiment and two acorns felt like representation of how much life has to offer. 

That’s the thing with God (or Good), there is always more. Those folks out there into abundance and growth mindset and manifestation are really onto something - there is Good (or God) all around us if we would just let in, let it happen, let ourselves believe just a little bit. 

So many of us feel the need to decline help. We feel like we have to worry about the future. We think finding faith in Good (or God) will be impossible, or at the very least, a real struggle. If we’ve been hurt before, traumatized, betrayed, it’s very easy to want to protect ourselves, to isolate, and to decline protection. 

But, in my experience, our need for connection bubbles up in unpredictable, unmanageable, or counterproductive ways. We act like we feel unworthy of Good (or God), but it’s not that simple. We actually don’t know what Good (or God) even is, let alone how to prioritize it. 

And let’s be real - there are people, places, and things we really should protect ourselves from. I am not advocating for walking around deaf, dumb, and blind to cruelty, trauma, or a lack of accountability. Faith, in my experience, is an important tool in discerning what is Good (or God) and what (or who) is not. And that discernment of both takes time, patience, and commitment to cultivate.

That’s why faith and starting small is useful. Tiny little experiments in faith, prayer, meditation, focusing on Good, contemplating what God might mean to us throughout our days, weeks, months slowly adds up to believing in better, in connection, in opportunities. It doesn’t have to be a drastic life change - in fact it’s better if it isn’t. We can start small. Very small. Acorn small. 

So, the next time you’re out and about and Good (or God) offers you something, maybe just accept what is offered. Maybe just start taking the acorns, and see what happens.