I think I've finally realized what my bonsai is. It doesn't have to a literal tree, nor does it always have to be filled with good chi energy that you can physically draw upon with the palm of your hand. We all have our individual bonsai -- hugging pets, riding horses, talking for hours on the phone, singing with cockatiels, wrestling with brothers, playing the trombone, touching piano keys, hanging out with friends to watch "Charlie's Angels", huggletackling in chat rooms. . . I'm sure some of you recognize yourself om there. ;) That's our own bonsai, the thing that fulfils us and keeps us going.

I have small little bonsai scattered all over the place -- they all fulfil me in some way, in some aspect, depending on what kind of recharge I need. Reading, writing, drawing. Learning about other people. Listening to other people, studying the lilt in their voices, their accents. The way they pronounce their words, the way their mouths form syllables. The way they write and the words they choose to use. I guess there's no just-one thing that recharges me, there are many little-ones of them.

One of my small bonsai, as I'm sure others' are, is the reaffirmation that people do read and like what you write. Not just feedback, but comments, remarks, details. It doesn't even have to be about the story, it could be just talking about something else, and it still makes you *happy.* Does that make sense?

The bonsai's there. We just need to open our eyes and see it, and realize it.

I'm starting to open my eyes.

* * *