A few months ago I reacquainted with a friend from college that I’d not spoken with in a couple decades, and we had one of those far-ranging 90-minute chats that didn’t come close to closing the gap.
Among the revelations is that he’d been a pilates instructor in New York City for the last 20 years. I knew where he lived, but the pilates part was revelatory. I hardly knew what pilates was, but he had my attention. Here was an expert.
We were talking of our practices—me, bonsai, him pilates. And one thing he said caught my attention.
”They did a study about pilates that came up with the astonishing conclusion that those who made progress did the exercises. It’s less stupid than it sounds. Doing it any way is better than not doing it.”
I laughed, but then had to agree. For I think we are in much the same boat, those who do body work and those who do tree work. If we do nothing, the body and the tree atrophy.
I offer this as a ponderable for this week. You may find the idea fits some general things in bonsai quite well. Like repotting when the root mass is tight. And then, with other things, it doesn’t. Like when a weak tree could really use a rest.
But doing exercises and working on bonsai have one thing in common. Improving through small increments.
Kurt Vonnegut said life is about farting around. Not staring at our bonsai from behind a window, fretting over an improper number of leaves. But being out there. Being an instrument.
Bulletin Board April 2025
- Apologies to any expecting emails and waiting a long time for them. In the midst of a move were several complicating issues that I won’t bore you with, but they did result in a convincing black hole. I should shortly be back online with reasonable frequency.
- And then I’m off for Australia for their National Bonsai Show in Canberra, May 16-19th. If you live out that way or are swooping by, do make a stop.