Meet Tree Of Life Stories

We were lucky to catch up with Tree Of Life Stories recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tree of Life Stories, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

Tree of Life Stories was formed for collaboration and for kids’ voices to be heard over a society that may overlook them. Ira and friends wanted to be able to show that in their own community, kids could talk about their experiences and passions through their own lenses. Tree of Life Stories was the perfect outlet for this and through Soul Stir, we were able to reach all ages through writing.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Tree of Life Stories is a publishing company that publishes children’s magazine by kids and for kids. The name of the magazine is Soul Stir and it is published annually. All the articles are written by kids and for kids.

What do you do for self care and what impact has it had on your effectiveness?

Vanyaa Gupta:
When it comes to self care, I try to make sure I have a consistent sleep schedule and that get enough sleep each night. Balancing personal time and schoolwork is not an easy task, but it brings a well needed mix of work and play to my life. Also, I usually set aside time to listen to music, journal, or go on a walk—these things are amazing at helping me clear my mind and feel centered. I also make time for activities that help me decompress, like reading or spending time with friends. These habits have had a big impact on my effectiveness, taking care of my mental and physical health, and have made me more well-rounded as a person. I have noticed that when I feel calm and rested, I’m able to perform better in school, manage my responsibilities, and be a good teammate during interpersonal work. Practicing decompressing activities also helps me avoid burnout, which is critical for staying consistent and dependable in my life. Self-care is something that we all must value so that we stay content and healthy.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Samyuk Sooda:

As I look back on how my writing career has evolved so far, it raises a question worth a moment of thinking. What skills did I excel in that helped me improve my writing? My qualities were my dedication my perseverance, and…my failures. In full honesty, it is a truly a complicated answer that has many more layers than may be expected at first. To expand on the failures, I think I was able to improve at writing because of my past failures. It sounds odd, but going back to a few years ago, I was not very good at writing. I would constantly have writer’s block and would find it frustrating when the words I needed to express myself weren’t clicking. Instead of giving up, I strived to improve. Seeing even just the slightest bit of improvement from my latest work made the world to me. It motivated me even further, and with some assistance along the way, I became a much better writer than I was before.
My advice to children younger than me who wish to pursue writing is to not be afraid of failure. In the end, failure is the best way to reflect and improve. No one tends to enjoy failure, but if you use it as a learning tool, I promise it will work out. You have to find out what you love writing about-in other words, your passion. Always use whatever time is on your hands on your writing and write from your heart. With true pure appreciation for your writing, things just start working out for you! In the future, I hope to share my “masterpieces” with a large audience of people that can connect to my writing.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

Sid Rajan:

One of my favorite quotes is “Life is full of challenges, but I always have the Three Ps: Passion, patience and persistence. And the fourth one is pizza,” by Butch Hartman. Throughout my first decade of life, I have learnt what the true weight of these three words are. I feel as if they aren’t just the run-of-thee-mill words, but they are qualities. Many think of qualities as personality traits or habits, but I think of them as the key to success. However, qualities aren’t any normal thing you can pick up and master in a couple days, they are things that must be felt, absorbed, and accepted into your personality. An experience of mine that showed the these qualities was once, in a tennis match, I was one point away from losing. My doubles partner and I showed persistence by not giving up, patience by staying calm, and passion as we were doing what we love. We won five straight games and ended up winning. Looking back, I realize that I wasn’t aware of these three qualities then, but now, I have learned that no matter how much of a sore loser or lofty winner you are, using these three qualities always leaves room for improvement. I know that having such qualities in your toolbelt results in success getting closer and closer. It doesn’t matter if you are a senior citizen or a child, it’s never too late to learn these qualities and “put yourself out there”. As for my understanding of these qualities, I must thank my parents, friends, and the experiences I’ve lived through so far. It doesn’t matter if it’s a rough patch in a friendship or a lecture I am not in the mood to hear, it’s important it is to still listen the hard way. My parents have guided me immensely by giving me opportunities to help me find my passion and interests. I really can’t thank them enough. My close friends have also helped me greatly by showing enough understanding so that I can express my feelings and giving me feedback. After all, you should always compete against yourself. But what I have found the most helpful to obtain these three Ps are books and literature. My parents started purchasing books at the beginning of the 6th grade. They included titles relating to the seven habits of mind and the path to success. These books extensively informed me about each of the Ps which I started to practice at home, even in subtle ways. Although I am not even close to mastering these qualities, “each tiny step keeps you climbing that mountain”. They have helped me mature as a person and be more open minded. In my experience, the fourth P should always be to feel joy and amusement a little. Without excitement, I would suffer so much, and I feel like many can agree. Therefore, I think that the three main qualities for me were passion, patience, and persistence, and I thought books were one of the best ways to achieve them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.treeoflifestories.org

Image Credits

Mr. Pravin DSouza