At the start of the month, we met in person in Pitres for our mid-year review. Our main aim was to assess how the year is going and what lies ahead, driven by that human urge to anticipate future problems.
We decided on a format that has proved very rewarding: a day’s walk in the mountains with various stops to talk and make decisions, eat, rest, and so on. Changing scenery every so often so that difficult topics don’t become entrenched. Walking and talking, stopping and talking, talking and eating…
At one point, standing by the banks of the River Bermejo, Dani told us he wanted to show us something. Curious, we followed him and he led us to a thicket of lush vegetation. With one hand, he parted the brambles to clear a path through the undergrowth, revealing, in the background, a small, hidden holm oak in good health.
He told us that this was one of the first acorns he had planted over eight years ago. And that every time he passed by, he would visit it to see how it was getting on. The truth is, I was really thrilled to see it there, camouflaged and growing, from before I even had any idea what Semillistas was. So I took a photo of it, and here it is. This holm oak has witnessed all the ups and downs of Semillistas, its successes and failures, and the challenges it has overcome. And it will probably still be alive when Semillistas no longer exists. And when I no longer exist. Growing and being. Being and growing. Doing its bit.
