Come a long way!

 I've experimented with so many different types of name tags for my trees over the years trying to find the right one that will be long lasting.

This wooden one in the pic I made this around 8 years ago, I bought a soldering iron and cut myself some pieces of wood and started to burn the name onto the wood. It was very time consuming and the weight of it hanging on the branch wore away the tree. They also didnt last too long and got all weathered in a very short space of time.

This wooden tag holds special memories for me, as I remember making it around 8 years ago, I had just started my environmental graffiti journey back then in guerilla planting fruit trees around estates, I had not yet coined The Phantom Planter name just yet, it was environmental graffiti for me.

But back then I was still an alcoholic coke head and had just started to practice Buddhism. Planting trees and making nature offerings I had in my head back then that this was my path to purity. 8 years later and I'm doing alright!

Back then though I never would have had the contentment to sit in and have the patience to make something like this wooden name tag. Coming from a life living on the edge in the underworld sitting in for the night making tree tags was not what you did.

I struggled with this, I used to always admire people who had patience many years ago. People who could just sit and be happy and content doing things like this was totally not on my spectrum.

This tag though I remember, it was a friday night and I told myself I'm not going to go mad tonight, I'm going to sit in and enjoy making this tag, give the drink and drugs a miss for a night and do this!!

The whole time making it that feeling was in my stomach like a hamster running on a wheel. I had a very deep self analytical moment. Why can I not do this, why!!! But then I was learning about Buddhism and they say everything is a practice. I spent a lifetime practicing being king rat and was I just going to all of a sudden become some inner peaced up guru overnight!

I took this as a good thing that I made the start of doing something new, different and constructive in my life. This was a massive challenge for me.

I had no bother getting out in the middle of the street digging a hole and planting a tree without permission, this sort of activity fed into my dodgy underworld style life and thats why I loved doing it. But when it came to finding the patience to sit in on my own on Friday night to make this tag it really messed with my head.

I got the tag made and hit the bar after and went on a weekend bender till Monday. It was a start though and as the Buddha dudes say everything is a practice. We need to keep practicing new good habits and one day your drawer will be filled with more good than bad.

Right from birth we are programmed nutters, filled with egotistical and competitive mindsets. Way too many dark frequencies are normalised in society. Today I like to think of myself as a rat race refugee. A refugee of the underworld and a refugee of society.

And one day I hope to cross over to the other shore as the Buddha calls it. The state of Enlightenment and Liberation.

This state is within everyone of us, its not on the outside, it is within. We all contain the Buddha light.

The whirlwind of life is purposely designed to distract us from this. Then again it has to be like this, otherwise it would be boring right?

No one likes to play a game they can complete so easily. Or dream a dream that your going to know whats going to happen.

Phantom planting trees in my own rogue way has been my greatest teacher.

Peace and love 

The Phantom Planter