It has been difficult for me to get in a bit of tree love this summer. I need a bit of tree therapy, but my body cannot handle the extreme heat. I am trying to figure out solutions to this problem, but for now, I capture trees “in passing”–as I exit a building on my way to my car or as I exit my car on the way to a building.

Such was the case with the photo in this post. While heading to the parking lot after an appointment, I looked up and beheld glorious bright orange leaves against a clear blue sky. I stood still for a literal second to breathe and take a couple of quick snaps with my phone. [One of those snaps is featured as a watercolor edit in today’s Instagram post]. 

The photo above served as my 52Frames, Week 27 submission for the prompt negative space. I intended to type an excerpt of a poem in the space, but it felt wrong to cover up the gorgeous blue sky with words.

I have been carrying Cleo Wade’s Heart Talk with me for the past couple of weeks, so her poem inviting us to use the tree as our model for how to appreciate our unique selves is my gift to you for this #ThursdayTreeLove.

stand tall
Cleo Wade

the tree never
feels less like a tree
because it is different
from the others
in the forest

so why would we ever think we are meant to all be the same?

to be unique is to be a living thing

I am joining Parul Thakur for #ThursdayTreeLove every second and fourth Thursday of the month. If you would like to play along, post a picture of a tree on your blog and link it back to her latest #treelove post.