Arroe Collins Forest Stories

How often do you sit and watch the growing path of a single raindrop? It's almost an impossibility when there's distance. To take note of such an incredible journey you have to be willing to get wet. To stand in the storm. To become part of the environment of a willingness to want to participate with something beyond your human touch. A single drop of water falls thousands of feet to hopefully be...

As a child I feared the wind more than thunder and lightning. Maybe its because Montana was the receiver of those extremely strong Chinook winds out of Yellowstone Natl Park. I always felt the trees in the neighborhood were going to come down and the end result was a ripped up moment of security and comfort. Today, I view the wind as being a source of information. It carries the seeds of plants an...

That moment. Yep the one where everything feels like the planets have aligned. You feel great and in tune with the atmosphere of constant change. Most people don't pick up a writing instrument or whip out their smartphone or tablet to write about that moment. The open space of receiving something greater than normal and the choice becomes to personally celebrate the accepting of such a vibration....

Returning to your places of inspiration. It's not an act of conceit but rather rejuvenation and or a reminder of where you once stood before your mind body and soul were challenged to change. In 2015 I began a journey of writing at the Billy Graham Library never knowing that it would one day become an iHeart Radio Channel. I felt in my heart that I was being called to speak a language that was for...

I think we'd be fibbing if we shouted out, "I never say things like I truly don't know where I am right now." The problem with modern day technology is the lack of GPS systems that put the right direction in our daily decisions and choices. One minute cannot be compared to another. Hitting walls is our natural walk. Instead of walking through it the decision is to go around or back off all togethe...

This is a subject that can easily be taken and or read wrong. Open your heart and face the base of the mountain and realize that no day goes by that we aren't handed some sort of rejection. I'm still not convinced that the human frame was designed to receive such an emotional change on a roller coaster of events. We all act differently. I study the art of a sales person who faces rejection hundred...

I sat in the forest with my newly adopted Pointer. She was on a leash. I mean those are the rules right? As a writer I took note of her path and where it wouldn't grow only to learn that each of us are on leashes as well. What are your dreams and what's keeping you from achieving your greater success? It's funny how we all have incredible excuses as to why we are in the moments we live while other...

Each of us are introverts. The digital age has turned us into travelers to very far places without taking a step in any direction. The moment someone puts a little pressure on our system of choice the idea of correcting the corners of the jagged circle is put aside. That's when the imagination is fed some pretty incredible plastic food on the digital device so willing to share its treasure chest o...

The slightest things change my direction of choice. It's not that I'm always studying the GPS of life but rather I want to make sure that everything I am creating forward has a purpose and plan. Maybe it's a generational thing. In my twenties I didn't care about the ticks on a clock and what happens when you allow most of them to fall off the wall into memories that fade with the rising of a new s...

A simple but healthy thought fell into my process of growth the other day: It's all around you. Why aren't you taking notes? We take in so much mentally on a daily basis who would ever think that sitting down with a writing instrument and documenting it would carry worth with its weight? I'm the type of numb skull that wants to know why birds sing while its raining. Humans do all they can to bust...

I've always been fascinated by the view of the creative mind. How living in the future makes a great connection for the collector or buyer to one day catch up. I use a painted rock found on a mountain trail as an example. How much did the artist know before letting the stone go? So often the creative spirit wants to be picky about who gets what's been released from their imagination. It's a protec...

Perception feels like a word that best represents assumption. Not so... Dictionary.com says "Perception is the ability to see, hear or become aware of something through the senses." Whereas assumption is accepted as true or as something that is certain to happen without there being proof. I don't know if it's funny or a lack of common sense but we invest in both words like it's a hot commodity. On...

We face those walls all too many times. I still can't figure out why we don't just turn and walk away. Unless it's because there have been several times in our everyday challenges where the grass has been greener on the other side. But getting back becomes the lifelong challenge that feels like defeat. Now lets turn it around. What if we are deciding not to cross through to the other side of the w...

I think we learn early on that brothers and sisters aren't truly wired to get along. Too often though what drove us crazy as kids actually creates a lifelong wedge. One week becomes twenty plus years. Through hardheadedness and or just ego we agree to disagree to live in peace without having to deal with each others weight. Pauly Shore talked about this a few years back and he was extremely seriou...

The depths that we travel aren't always by way of choice. We can try to erase the paths that invited the moment to unfold but the elements that create purpose find their way back to the forefront of reason. Lets be honest. We all endure seasons. But do we learn from the steps taken or try to rebuild the trail to better suit how we accept the day or night? The answers are always there. We just have...

For the longest time we've been this generation of laughing other peoples failures away. We see a troublesome spot on life's everyday highway and most people do all they can to steer clear of the clutter. I'm reminded of the multiple times a community of farmers in Wyoming chose to work together during branding and hay bailing season. It was nearly next to impossible to accomplish any work as a so...

We hear it a lot these days. People openly admitting "I'm a little low on faith." What exactly does that mean? Should we have been built with needles and dashboards that measure how much fluid or faith we have inside our mind body and soul? Hearing that someone has lost faith has always grabbed my attention. What were you doing to find yourself in a position of choice? Because isn't that what a la...

I recently shared with a friend, "While trying to prevent a storm I actually created one." Selected words from two days earlier were misinterpreted and it led to some serious judgement. There seems to be a lot of that going around. Instead of putting focus on the purpose and plan, we've developed this new habit of giving what we feel permission to rein over all things developed. No matter how far...

What if what we see are only images an imagination can get away with delivering? And that maybe if we look beyond the mirages of everyday life and living we'd see a completely different painting. This chapter dives into the presence of Fall during its closing moments. There are so many seasonal changes. Including the awareness of a chilled breeze. Once noted on paper a different team of wind maker...

Yeah yeah I know. Be great at one thing. Interestingly enough those that put focus only on what they assume is their talent or gift tend to shrivel up and blow away with the wind. No day passes that you aren't given brilliant new ideas and paths. We choose to set them aside because it doesn't fit into the realm of your current business success. That's when I bravely say to friends, "Then stop comp...

We all go through it. We're so consumed by work, play, dreams, far away wishes and too many commands. The cup is so full that it's become too easy to get lost and confused. You wake up from a simple catnap and your mind can't instantly plant you in a place of easy recognition. The sweats set in. You begin to doubt and quite possible feel fear. It takes longer than normal to readjust your awareness...

The story beyond the story. The lessons learned while marching through the storms of everyday. While studying Martial Arts I learned very quickly that winning is a choice. Sounds like a tool of insurance more than assurance. Learning to live that path helped me embrace the unexpected while celebrating the carefully planned out. Then when life takes a swing at you the forest student steps back into...

If I were to truly explain what this entry is about you'd judge the book by it's cover. In fact if you have a difficult time dealing with reality I suggest you don't pull your vehicle in. Life is a series of changes and challenges, victories and reasons to grow outward a quarter inch at a time. We love to pull things toward us without realizing at any given moment it can be taken away. But how do...

I recently sat in the forest paying close attention to the changing of the leaves. Slowly one by one they'd drift to the earth below. I love to people watch. There's a dance that we do during times of challenge and or reasons to want to grow forward. Body language says a lot and most of the time those carrying the message have no clue what they're sending out. During those bouts with doubt and or...

These are some trying times. So many unexpected headlines and business decisions causing horrible shades of stress leading to fear. How can we survive the attacks inside an age of where it's OK to tell employees to work free of charge during overtime hours? Society bounces back in ways that make very dark headlines. That in itself causes fear to pop its shell and begin a process of growing roots....