28/08/2026
Today I noticed a chestnut tree that is both growing chestnuts and blooming at the same time.
And I thought about how interesting it is that when nature does something that falls outside what we consider “normal”, we usually respond with curiosity, fascination, even admiration.
We don’t look at the tree and think, “Why can’t you be like all the other trees?”
We don’t try to fix it.
We simply stop and look.
And yet, with ourselves — with people — things can be so different.
Of course, we have social norms. Some of them help us live together, feel safe, respect each other and our boundaries. But beyond that, there are so many ways of being yourself.
Maybe not everything in us that is different, unusual, or doesn’t fit the expected pattern needs to be changed.
Maybe sometimes it simply needs kindness.
Permission to have our own timing.
Permission to grow differently from others.
Permission not to “bloom” when we think we’re supposed to.
Permission to have our own chestnuts and our own flowers at the same time. 🌰🌸
This chestnut tree grows right across from my new home. A friend pointed it out to me today, just after I came out of my own therapy session — a session that was, in a way, about giving myself permission to be myself.
Regardless of whether someone likes it.
Regardless of whether someone understands it.
Regardless of whether it fits their idea of who I “should” be.
And I think this is also something I deeply want to offer to the people I work with. 🤍 Not another instruction about how they should live. Not another standard they need to fit themselves into.
But a space where they can look at themselves with curiosity, instead of immediately judging what feels different or unfamiliar. A space where they can discover their own rhythm, their own needs, and their own way of being.
Because maybe we don’t always need to fix ourselves.
Sometimes, we simply need to stand on our own side and give ourselves permission to be who we are.
Just like this chestnut tree.
