Gifts Arise in Simple Moments
Some time has past since I have written here.
Thoughts and awareness rises up within me and am feeling called to write, to record, to put into words that which is happening within.
As I carry on in life, moments and activities that can appear seemingly small, unnoticeable things are standing out and communicating with me.
My bike has sat with a flat tire since I moved it. I walk past it daily. As the warmer weather came and the vast blue sky accompanied it, I saw my bike as an invitation to get on it. That is the thing with bikes. You get on, even having not been on in some time (in may case over a year and a half) and you know what to do. You do not have to think about balancing and pedaling, you simply go. So I went and it felt great. I even played a bit with taking my hands off of the handle bars (more on that in a separate piece). While riding my bike I glanced down and noticed lush green grass near the water that rushed through it. This was not a creek, stream or brook, it was the path the snowmelt took as it joined a creek. There, where the water flowed, the grass was a vibrant green, there was a quality of lushness there. This got me thinking about flow. For where there is flow, there is vibrancy, aliveness, dynamism. When something is flowing it is moving, not static, not stagnant (even though from my experience there is movement in what appears to be static water, that which looks as if it is not moving). This movement brings vitality, nourishment, a quality of aliveness. We know this as the breath, the natural life force that flows within us. There is flow in other aspects as well, the natural movement, natural flow. This natural flow can be the breath, the water the flows to the oceans and also the continuity of thoughts.
Are you aware of the thoughts that hold you or that you hold on to? Is there an awareness to the thoughts that grip you, that evoke something within you? I have begun to notice these thoughts that light me up, thoughts that awaken something within me, thoughts that hold my attention, thoughts that disrupt the flow of life. Thoughts, they are the product of the mind; they have a tendency to consume, derail, confuse, take me away from the present moment. Why are you here?, I ask. What are you showing me? What invitation are you offering me for me to see?
Spring has a natural tendency to awaken from the dormancy of winter, this is part of natures natural rhythm. For many this is a time to clean, clear, cleanse and wash away. This morning while working in the yard with my mom, we cut back and cleared away tall, ornamental grasses. I have watched these grasses grow from this stage last year. I have watched them weather rain, wind and snow. I have seen them get blown over and then stand back up. I have seen them get weighted down by the damp, heavy snow and bounce back to an upright position once they dry. Today while next to them at the ground level I was able to witness their strength, their firm grip in the ground and the stable base they have as a foundation. We cut and cut and cut, each time more of their foundation was exposed, their solid base was revealed. We saw many of the grasses began to grow in a spiral motion, creating an open center in the middle, a place that looked void of growth while simultaneously appeared as a womb, a safe place that could be home to a small mammal or shelter to one in need of a place to hide. We found nests and leaves. We noticed some areas were moist, while others were dry.
As we cut, a metaphor arose in my mind. We grow, we emerge from a center, a dark center, a womb. We lay our foundation, we grow roots to form our solid base and we grow, we expand, we rise up. Moments arrive for us to look at our growth, to notice what resides, to see what we have collected, to cut back, to discard and clean out what no longer serves. Moments arrive for us to reconnect with our foundation and to nourish the root of who we are.
Observing, cutting, clearing and in joy with it all,
Sara