Community spirit

 Brought a couple of friends on a phantom planters tree tour yesterday around the estate to collect apples. As we were walking around we just seen a lady causally out picking apples from a batch of trees we have at the multi story flats in the middle of the estate. We got talking to her and she said she is picking the apples to make jelly to raise money for the local community hub. She had some of this jelly in her bag and give me a jar.

It really made my day seeing the community out picking the apples like this, this is a dream come true for me. All them years ago when I first started phantom planted this is what I had envisioned for the future.

The amount of people that have been saying to me also that they have been out picking plums, berries and apples has been unreal.

It really does keep me inspired to carry on phantom planting. I've got so many more green spaces eyed up around the estate that I will be phantom planting up over the coming years. And I've learned which varieties grow and produce the best in housing estates.

Later that evening I brought my big pal down for an Indian and just near it I have more phantom planted apple trees, we stopped and picked him a nice big juicy apple on the way.

Its an amazing time of year when you can go out and pick the fruits of your labour. Thousands of phantom planted fruit trees we've got all over the place for a the community and nature to enjoy.

Apple trees have to be the best trees to plant in estates, they give such nice flowers in spring and fruit for the community in late summer. They never grow too big either, unlike some of the ones the council plant which end up growing out of control. blocking light to peoples houses, then the grass dies off underneath and they then spend a fortune over the years getting the tree surgeons out keeping them pruned back.

We do need these bigger growing trees, but maybe just not right in the middle of housing estates. many then get cut down as they pose a health and safety risk when they get too big.

There is so much ecological benefits to fruit trees, the bees and the birds love them and people get to eat good natural organic produce on they're doorsteps. Then there's the community bonding aspects of planting fruit trees too. The amount of connections I have made from out planting and chanting has just been amazing. The people you get to know too are just the best too.

A slightly better caliber of people than I would have met ducking and diving in the dodgy underworld.

Yesterday I bumped into a mad man who used to work for me in my old days. It must be 20 years from I seen him and he hadn't changed one bit. Still getting arrested for violence all the time and I could see talking to him he was still ready for violence at any moment. I tried to explain to him about meditation and planting trees and giving back to nature and that how I've taken the love and compassion route in life has made me feel at peace.

I offered him to come out tree planting with me sometime but I could see in his eyes he was having none of it, He was too far gone! He got into his top of the range car and sped off like a rally driver.

Maybe the seed will be planted with him and I hope it will be.

20 years ago when he worked for me I was at the peak of my organised criminal activities. I had every top paramilitary boss in my back pocket. Things couldn't have been better in some peoples eyes. But all that is only on loan. I got a good run of it running around thinking I was untouchable. 

There's always someone in background though playing the long game waiting to take you down. Slowly slowly catch the monkey was phrase one guy always said. Little did I know he was using that strategy against me for years and I was meant to be his friend.

Everyone that came after me though and you know who you are, you were a blessing in disguise. There has got to be destruction for there to be renewal. I have no hard feelings over any of you. You drove me to the path I'm on now. 

There is only 2 people out there I find it really hard to forgive, and they didnt really do anything on me directly. They are like the little snakes of the underworld. The ones with no balls but like to pass on stories to try and bring you down, and still smile at you in the street. When I see them for a moment I dont feel right. Old ways of thinking come to my mind. But one day I will feel the love and compassion for them. Its a working process. You only fool yourself holding onto negative emotions. I'm aware of this. Anyhow my days of even thinking of posting them boxes of s**t are long gone or putting snakes through their letter boxes. The stuff you do when people rub you up the wrong way, its just not right. changed times for me now though! 

Hope you enjoy guys, if you do plant a tree. Keep your Karma right. Karma means action, your actions create reaction. One day they come back. They all come back. You can never escape the workings of the Dharma, its the law of universe. 

I challenge you to phantom plant a tree 

Peace and love 

The Phantom Planter