Plant the Tree Anyway: How to Start Your Health Journey
A year ago, my family moved out to the country. We now live in a 200-year-old farmhouse on some acreage with a lot of woods. We saw some old satellite photos recently and learned that our land was all open pasture in 2002. Now it’s so thick with brush that there are parts you literally have to crawl through on hands and knees. Which is great. We love woods and wild places. But it’s lacking some diversity. It could use some work to be a balanced ecosystem. We want more plants for pollinators. We want more perennial water. We want there to be more things like oaks and fruit trees.
And so even though we haven’t lived there for 18 months yet, even though there are still countless projects to do on the house and the outbuildings, last spring we put in saplings and this winter, we’re ordering more saplings. Why?
Because (as I’m sure you’ve heard), the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. But the second best time is today. (Or when the ground thaws). And who knows, maybe life changes dramatically in the next 10 years and we move and we never see those saplings mature. But we plant them anyway because the important thing is just to start.
Why is this relevant?
Because we’ve been talking for months about how you don’t have to wait until January 1 to start your health journey. You don’t need it to be a New Year’s Resolution. You don’t need a particular date or occasion.
But if you’ve chosen anyway to wait until January 1 to make some changes, then guess what… it’s fine. Better than fine… it’s great. It’s amazing.
The best time to start your health journey, just like tree planting, is years ago. But the second best time is now.
Here’s to 2026!