Bonsai is one of those hobbies that mixes reality with fantasy. On the one hand, we are creating a miniature, stylized version of a full grown tree and utilizing an actual living tree to create, and sculpt with. And on the other hand, we are immersing ourselves in a stylized, fantasy world - imagining lying on our backs at the roots of the tree, looking up into it's branches. It's really a shared experience. Tree and hobbiest.

Much of the time when we have created something exceptionally beautiful, our egos come in and tell us to recognize how good we are. How skilled we are. In truth, it is not all us. Sure, we have to know where to cut, how to bend, when to prune. But we are not controlling anything. We are merely shaping and loving. It is the tree itself that gives form to the work of art.

I don't know how many times I have wanted a tree to do something, or look a certain way. Then, once styled, the branch dies for no reason and I have to rethink.

As I look back over my years of bonsai, I have to say that the trees that I find the most beauty in and take the most pride in were the ones who whispered to me in some way what they would like to be. How they would like to look. Then, when I stopped trying so hard to accomplish something and listened, the tree developed into a masterpiece on it's own.