Out of a muddy pond blooms a lotus flower

 It will be 6 years ago this month I started The Phantom Planter and it will be 7 years this month also that I gave up alcohol.

Just shows one year away from the drink and look what was created. No way would I have ever have started The Phantom Planter if I was still on the drink.

It was also the day I setup The Phantom Planter that I gave up smoking weed too after probably 20 years of smoking daily.

I knew the weed would have made me second guess so many things that I was wanting to write on here. I had stuff in my head I wanted to express and as many of you know the weed can make you a bit bipolar at times. I know what would have happened, I would got up in the morning, do my ritual then write a deep spiritual post, then later that day smoked some weed and read back on the post thinking what type of weirdo was I. What was I thinking! Weed does these weird f**ked up things to the mind.

Before I setup The Phantom Planter I had never written anything in my life. I never had the confidence, the only things I ever wrote in the past was price lists, tick lists and bookie dockets. Honestly I have never sent a formal email before The Phantom Planter in my life. I always had someone that worked for me do it.

This all stemmed from childhood, I had this teacher who really hated me as a child, the stuff she done on me you wouldn't believe. You know what she did one day, she knew I was the little rogue of the class and not many people liked me. I got into a fight on a school trip once and she got the whole class into a hall and said who votes for me to stay, not one kid put there hands up and then she said who votes for me to go, everyone put there hands up for me to get sent home. This isn't right!

Then on another time when some of our class was getting picked to go to America with the YMCA she pulled me to the side after and made it quite clear she didnt put my name in the hat with a dirty grin on her face. I was like 8/9 years old.

Dont get me wrong I was no angel, in fact I was probably one of the worst in our estate and our estate was pretty rough. But is this how you should treat a child?

The writing thing though, she used to make me stand up in front of the class reading out what I wrote and made an absolute fool of me, laughing and giggling and getting the class to laugh too about how stupid my writing was. I never forget this.

Since then I never wrote anything until I started The Phantom Planter. It was a massive thing for me to come on and write stuff. Before The Phantom Planter I had a tree planting charity with a Buddhist twist to it and I had other people write my posts for me, but it wasn't being expressed the way I wanted it.

Then one day I met this 9 year old girl who was the daughter of my ex girlfriend. We became drawing buddies and I started to write little sayings and slogans under my drawings. This little girl always said I really like the way you write and the way you draw. I was a bit taken back. 

For months me and this little girl became best mates having our own little drawing folders and we sat for hours every week drawing and writing. It was always trees I drew too.

I then said to her as a joke that I'm going to get a superhero outfit and go around streets at night and plant apple trees. She thought this was a brilliant idea, her brother though thought very different.

We then talked about all the different outfits and masks we were going to use, we even tried to make our own mask and painted it. But we thought if we are going to be promoting other people to phantom plant too lets pick a mask that everyone can get easily, and so the anonymous mask it was! 

Although the first time I put it on in front of her she run scared.

Haven't seen this little girl in years and if it wasnt for her there would be no Phantom Planter. This little girl gave me the confidence to do all that I'm doing now!

So it seems November is a special month for me and its this month also I have been experiencing heartache over a break up. But out of a muddy pond blooms a lotus flower. I look forward to whats coming next for me.

Ps 

The pic is of me and the little girl with a Juniper tree we grew. 

I challenge you to phantom plant a tree was a slogan we came up with together. 

Peace and love 

The Phantom Planter