A New Beginning

Hello my lovely readers.
It has been awhile since I’ve written anything but much has gone on in the past year! Today (18 Nov 2024) marks a year and a month since my last blog post.

It has been a year of realisation, rediscovery, exploration, looking forward and learning from the past. 2024 has so far been an extraordinary year of expansion, change and manifestation; all I can ever be grateful for.

Last year marked the end of an era; the cessation of a coupling fraught with troubles throughout the years, leading to the eventual decay between two people. However the decay provided other opportunities for growth and diversification – likened to the habitation of saproxylic invertebrates in deadwood – so it was not all tragic. We remain friends and have learned so much about ourselves and our own unique growth patterns, and we both understood that letting go was the right thing to do. This ‘conscious uncoupling’ has resulted in both of us finding happiness, which is a precious thing in itself.

By manifestation and the natural flow of events, the most amazing person came into my life, someone I’d known for a few years now and have connected with through his love for woodlands, trees and music. This incredible man has absolutely affirmed the way I think about life, holding space for me and vice versa, and has strode firmly alongside me for the past year in the most loving and gentle way. We both feel blessed everyday that we are in each others’ lives and long may it continue.

I wanted to change my surname quite imminently after the ‘decayed fracture’. It was a reclamation of identity; dropping someone else’s name to find myself. This was an important phase for me, in all its significance and symbolism of change. I had two options – go back to my family surname or completely adopt a new surname – and I chose the latter. In the process of creative thinking, trees and woodlands lingered in my periphery as a major source of inspiration and representation of myself in Nature. My experiences being in forests (when I started work in conservation), my adventures in the lush and remote greens and blues on the other side of the planet, as well as my current work with ancient trees, naturally led me to create the surname ‘Silvawood’, of which I proudly claim as my fresh identity on the edge of expansion.

‘Silva’ is a feminine noun in Latin, meaning forest or woodland, and because I connect with individual trees as well, the word ‘wood’ had a natural resonance in the name. ‘Wood’ represents not only the fibrous substance (xylem) making up the greater part of stems, branches and roots of trees, but also symbolises abundance, life-giving power of the earth, growth, expansion and new beginnings. This could not be more apt, and Cheryl Silvawood was reborn.

Early this year I was approached by a reputable London publisher to write a book about our planet’s oldest trees. We discussed in length about the book and went through several drafts but decided in the end that our objectives for the book were different, and it had evolved into something that I didn’t feel was mine to take forward. I really do trust in my deeper instinct, and this opportunity has shown me that if you think expansively the universe will throw lots of good things at you, and while you can choose to say yes to everything, you can also be selective too, by being one with the things you resonate with.

I’m still working on tree projects, having consulted on several site visits this year for woodland creation. I still enjoy talking to people about old trees, and relishing in the visits I make to meet these lovely veterans and ancients. As much as I’m involved in the work and being behind the scenes to create more awareness for our nation’s oldest beings, I do feel there is adventure ahead – of sunshine, travel, nature, art and music – that I need to embark on, to delve deeper into another layer of my connection to trees and our planet.

So as I’m writing, exploring Nature, creating art and making music, I seek my next path ahead in full embrace, with courage, curiosity and a kindred connection to joy and light.

The writing continues.