Happy Spring 2016!!
As the China berries fall to the ground it opens up a space for delicate purple buds to adorn the brittle branches while green canopies shade the yard inviting long sits and sacred hammock time, my yard and its treasures a temple in which I come to find kinship, communion and empathy for the world that sustains me.
One of my favorite parts of this time of year is when the earth begins to unfold hidden gems that have been soaking in winter’s wisdom. Random crops of mystery flowers bundled in pockets of sunken ground and unknown sprouts peppered throughout terracotta and cobalt pots. Some not quite ready to fully show themselves, as they are committed to strengthening their roots and still in pursuit of the warm sun. Others are more bold in their vibrant desert hues and sugary scents, ready to be undone and summoning the work of bees.
Every year I sprinkle wildflowers and every year it is a surprise to me where, or if, they will surface. Three years ago I planted a white sage and it did not come to birth until this spring. It is a most wonderful gift as I thought surely after three springs and nearly 36 moons it was not a seed meant to be. Nature has proven that some intentions require more time than we may have the patience for.
Half of my yard is deliberate; food, herbs, succulents, the other half is whimsical and wild. This primitive and less-groomed parts are essential, they are where I remove my need to control or shape the order of nature, but to instead, let her be wild and expressive on her own terms. This half is where the wonder plants and once latent sage have found their place, this half if where I do not interfere with the intelligence of seasons, but where I sit back and trust the process of life.
The spring equinox is associated with the East, the symbol of new-beginnings and spiritual awakening. It has been long known as the time of year to sow seeds into the bed of the earth while also sowing intentions into the nature of the heart.
Often I see the setting of intentions partnered with a fierce grip on what the process ‘should’ look like and an attachment to the end result. Somewhere the intention gets clouded with a false sense of control and the very life of possibility is choked out. Metaphorically speaking, if the intention is to plant ‘flowers’, we must be willing to allow them to surface when they are ready, maybe even in a different season or corner of our life that was unexpected. If our intention is contingent on a plan, and we only see that plan, we deny the power of spontaneity and we suppress the wild and organic flow of life, which could give birth to alternative experiences.
Set your intentions with deliberate meaning and direct them on a path that feels right, but be sure to wrap them in faith and trust in the process. If your intention is to manifest a new job or project, get clear in how you want it to feel not just what it logistically looks like. When we feel things we are more in our bodies and less in the mind, thus more able to let go and trust the divine nature of spiritual development. It is faith and curiosity that leads us to the unseen fields of possibility. We can plant seeds, feed them, water them, and benefit from their harvest or bloom, but it is not us who grows them, that is the work of something much bigger. Surrendering our need to control is perhaps one of the greatest spiritual practices. By letting go of the mind control we are dropping deeper into our true Self, often a space richer with meaning and fertile potential. From this space we can watch the magic of our intentions weave themselves through time with no agenda and spring previously unseen beauty into our lives.
This spring may we trust in the process of life and welcome the wild flowers and awakened sages of possibility.
Blessings, Namaste, Aho
Robin Afinowich
