Cosmic Gardener – Cultivating a Life

When others seek us out when they are troubled
it is not always for advice or to problem solve.

Sometimes they merely want us to catch their words
and to listen with empty ears.

In conversation recently a friend ventured that one of the key pillars of his personal credo was the concept of leaving a campsite in better condition than you found it. It’s the unwritten rule among conscientious outdoor enthusiasts that honors the gift of nature.

My friend used the phrase metaphorically. A simple idea, the bigger picture it frames is that we exist in relationship, with nature, and interpersonally. Societal good and all our relations are served when we act responsibly as Earth School campers.

At some  point in our graduate studies in Earth School we will be called on to begin to share what we have learned. Our Earth School homework.

As students, we are also asked to listen to each other’s stories.
To learn what they know.

I believe that we are here to help each other grow.

We can always make room in our heart for one more.
And one more after that. And one more after that.
We must.

We are all the Other to someone. Sharing our stories with each other has the power to dissolve the Other, in the other.

Hindsight is 20/20. Sometimes. And sometimes things are clear in the moment, but for whatever reason, we don’t see clearly.

Reflection, on the other hand, can help us to not only look at our life experiences in a new light, but also to reframe them through the eyes of our Higher Self, that is always becoming. If we intentionally engage in the process, with focus and integrity, we can often see evidence of progress through our Earth School curriculum.

We are always becoming.

There is a difference between unburdening, letting go and lightening up. Each, at times, is an important consideration; all are integral to a peaceful and balanced life.

Sometimes it’s a process. Something comes up and in that moment we have the opportunity to unburden, let go and lighten up. To heal and move on.

It’s my habit to chat with folks when I’m out and about. Intended as lighthearted banter, sometimes it leads to an entertaining and/or heartfelt connection.

Often I have the fun of engaging folks of noticeably different generations (read: younger than me). On recent outings, in response to my favorite query “How ya doin’?’ I’ve gotten these decades-old responses:

• Swell
• Spiffy
• Snazzy

Amused that the words they chose were used in an era well before theirs (and mine) I chose to make conversation. To my delight, in each person I discovered a playful wordsmith.

What are younger folks up to today? FUN!

When you are broken by life, hold on, until you are broken open. For it is from within that deepest place inside where you will find your most sacred seeds. Often watered by tears and deep in attendant muck it is, however, not an easy space to cultivate.

Indigenous peoples use the term All Our Relations as acknowledgement that all life is from the Creator. Right after the highly contentious 2012 presidential election when President Obama was reelected, I wrote in my journal:

‘The status quo is in flux and we must choose a new course. Will we choose
brotherhood, benevolence and accountability to all our relations?’

Just as there was a possibility in 2012 to choose and act out of benevolence and peace, so now is that choice ours. After an even more divisive presidential cycle in 2016 and the election of President Trump, and with societal isolation and dysfunction rampant, a kind and wise choice is even more important.

There is a way forward out of polarity to unity.

Say Yes! to Life.
Show up.
Pay attention.
Be of service.
Believe in Peace for All Our Relations.

Life is not a spectator sport.

Somewhere along the line I began to use the phrase ‘hold onto your socks.’ Usually relative to something exciting or eventful happening, or on the horizon. Maybe even life altering. Folks that know me well know it well. A variation, ‘hold onto my’ socks is a phrase I might have uttered under my breath recently as I experienced a period of recalibration.

Walking helps me find center and (when necessary) to rebalance so I got myself new socks to comfort my feet  and keep pace in ease as I upped my game during this period. Back from a long walk, I kicked off my shoes and propped up my feet.
And laughed!

Smiling is good for the environment.

When you’ve lost your way and life seems to have sucked the wind from your sails asking a related question can sometimes create enough space to be able to breathe again. To make room for a deep breath however, you may be asked to let go the need to have an answer.

With that deep breath you may also be asked to release the need to find a solution, any solution. In this letting go a new way forward may appear.

Breathe. Deeply.

The Butterfly symbolizes transformation. The process it goes through in becoming is an apt metaphor for our human development.

When a caterpillar goes into the chrysalis stage there is a time when nothing in the cocoon resembles either it or the butterfly it is destined to become. Within the chrysalis “imaginal cells” begin to appear and a miracle occurs. Initially perceived as enemies the caterpillar’s immune system attacks the cells, churning them into an amorphous liquid. Against formidable odds these imaginal cells continue to develop becoming a type of caterpillar soup, providing nourishment and a blueprint for the butterfly growing within.

In a lifetime most of us make more than one pot of soup, and sample a variety of wings on our way to free flight. In our becoming we are all butterflies.

Getting to know our self is a gardening project, an opportunity to grow our Self. Life seeds our experiences with building blocks and mirrors to help us cultivate an understanding of who we are, really, at our core.

In relationship to the circumstances we encounter, and to those people that populate them, Life reveal us to our self.

Grow Love.

There are times in our lives when we get stalled in the hallways of our lives. In that in-between state we may become so fixated on a door not fully closed that we we lose sight of the ones ahead, beckoning.

In their unfoldment each of our life’s experiences offer opportunities for growth.

Life teaches us about Love.
What it is.
And what it isn’t.