Having a place to call hOMe for good has ignited my interest and love for plants and they have taught me a few things I trust to be useful lessons for everybody so I'm sharing them all with you
It all starts as a seed
A few years ago, while travelling the world, my husband told me it would be nice if I knew what I wanted to do with my life so that I could focus my energy on that and build my life from there. I was just happy travelling and doing jobs that were simple and didn’t involve much effort and gave me enough money to travel and cover my living expenses. I already had a degree in teaching English as a second language but I wasn’t keen on working for a school and commit to a whole year of doing the same as my gypsy spirit enjoys freedom to roam.
I truly had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I just wasn’t ready yet to make a life decision like that, I was already a yoga lover 11 years ago when I met my now hubby but it wasn’t until I committed to a daily practice that the seed of becoming a yoga teacher asked me to nurture it. The seeds are those heart hints that we get which not only come as the “ I know that this is want to do with my life” but can also come as a feeling of “this is not what I want” and that not knowing, takes us to ask ourselves “what then?”
The seed informs us our hearts intention and it carries within it our soul’s grandest desire that buzzes with excitement when we hear its subtle message, the message that lies dormant for years before we recognise it and acknowledge that there’s something so meaningful for us to do in this lifetime; filling us with purpose and eventually leading us to carry out our dharma.
To me, our dharma is embedded in the seed before we’re born, and even if it takes us a lifetime for us to discover or uncover what we are here to do, all events in our life serve the purpose of leading us to this realisation and fulfilment of it ~ All experiences we have lived; the good, bad, the best and the worst form the sprouting of the seed.
So, whether you know what’s the dormant essence of your seed or not, know that there are many seeds, some contained within the many thoughts we have, the soul messages, the realisations, the suffering, the joy, the uncertainty and certainty, the confusion and clarity, the chaos and the bliss. We have to be aware enough of these "suggestions" we get from life, the pains and aches that give us a sign that something has to change and follow the omens that life experience gives us, some seeds will grow to become magnificent like an oak tree, some bright as a sunflower, some sweet as berries and some will become weeds, and no matter what they become, what all seeds share in common is that they all become what they are meant to be. It is in their essence, and whatever they become, their mere existence and Beingness benefits (in some way or another) something/someone else, and when this happens, the seed has fulfilled its life purpose, its dharma.
Not everything is what it seems
I was re-planting my sprouts and I noticed that some of them had grown quite big in a short time while some others seemed to have just made it through the soil. What I didn’t know then it’s that those which looked tall and big, when taken out of the soil, had a very small root, while the seemingly tiny plants, had roots that were as big as the height of the big plants. One was growing outwards while the other was growing inwards and if I had measure their growth by only what could be seen externally, I wouldn’t have thought that the one that looked big and strong had very small roots that make it less stable and more delicate than the one that was deeply rooted underground which in spite of seeming small, it could survive life storms and be firmer when adversity hits. At times in our lives, it may seem as if we are not improving or seeing quick results in what we are working on or towards, but what we don't always see is that we are building the skills and all that’s needed for when we reach our aim, so that by the moment we “get there”, we are better prepared and equipped for what awaits.
What looks like the end, may well be a beginning. What may seem as death, could be a re-birth instead.
I have this plant that looked pretty dead, I thought of removing it from the garden but luckily I didn’t!
Now, there are some new shoots coming. This gives me hope. I'm not going to lie, hope is something I temporarily lost when I watched certain news about the state of the world; racism, injustice, abuse, lies, and all that seems to be on the cards for a foreseeable future due to the virus. However, I now trust that the “hard” reality serves the purpose of paving the path for a more conscious world to emerge. These shoots of my plant are the proof that not all that seems lost is a loss, but an opportunity to re-create a reality that is kinder, more inclusive and respectful of others and where there’s more equality and less judgements.
An opportunity to start anew
In our personal life, we have gone through many losses and what I call “little deaths” that needed to happen for us to become who we are today. In my case, there was a time when I thought I’d rather be dead and that part of me had to disappear in order to create space for who I am now, to move from "don't want to live" to "I am grateful for every second of my sacred life," as the old me and new me, wouldn’t be able to coexist.
If you have lost something during this time, see it as an opportunity to the emerging of something better and more aligned with who you are being.
Let this mark a new beginning where you get to choose the desired outcome
Is there anything in your life that has lost its spark? Anything that’s calling for a new beginning?
Is there something you lost that perhaps was helping you in some way but not fully fulfilling you in another? Do you believe there can be a hidden divine plan that is redirecting you to where you really need to be?
Prune what already served its purpose. Cut the weeds off
The thoughts we have can be both of service or disservice, our mental patterns have the ability to make us feel either in full bloom or lost in what feels like an unattended garden full of weeds .
There are mental patterns that serve our higher purpose and those that entangle our heads and prevent our growth. The thoughts that whisper "you’re not good/brave/smart/pretty/wise enough, etc" to take action and to move in the direction of your dreams. These thoughts are the ”weeds” that need to be cut off, anything that feels painful, anything that already served its mission and is no longer improving or benefitting our lives must be pruned so that growth can happen and more areas on our lives are able to flourish.
I always felt that I didn’t want to “kill” the roses by cutting them, even when they were withering and falling into pieces and it was their destiny to eventually die off ! Only when I started to prune them and make use of them that new buds started to fill the tree
This time has shown me that weeds and withering flowers in my life were exhausting my energy, so I had to prune thoughts of lack, relationships that felt heavy to have, insecurities that were impacting my life, and those things that are not aligned with who I am. This doesn’t mean that we only accept the good and live in a “good vibes only” bubble as this is not real, but to look at those weeds, find their roots, learn the lessons they bring (we learn more from hardships, suffering and challenging times in our lives than we do when all is great.)
This includes realising that being pinched by the thorns is part of life and that the beauty of the rose would not be as valued without some sort of obstacle on the way, when we do this work, we clear (not suppress) what's no longer needed and allow the new to emerge in full bloom
What is the emerging story of your life? What is life asking of you and how can you best use what’s present in your current circumstance to look after your emerging blossoming?
Love,
Amor