Invasion and springtime are not often thought to go hand in hand yet I fail to see a better description for this years eminent arrival. Spring came early this year in no mistaken glory. Things were blooming by the end of February that usually do not dare peek out of the ground until the end of March or early April. Now as we enter May we are full into the new growth stage, the returning growth stage, and the things I’ve never seen before growth stage. A beautiful spring for sure unless you suffer from seasonal allergies then I send you my condolences. I have never had spring allergies, usually just mild fall annoyances yet this year, we all have a touch of congestion, even our dogs are sneezing. All this fertility and abundance stemming on the heels of what was a fairly mild winter season. Soon this early warmth will unleash the infamous l7 year and 13 year cicadas in the Midwest. Good luck central Illinois who may enjoy both broods. Oh joy. Thosands of giant flying locus like bugs with beady red eyes will take to the trees and skys. I have my tree netting ordered to save my 5 year old maple tree I’ve been growing from a seed. Overall the insects are not more than a noisy nusence yet they do lay hundreds of eggs in thin branches and can kill off those branches, mature trees will be fine, but my baby… will be netted.
My personal empowerment word of the year to focus on this year 2024, that I chose back in December, is Bloom. Isn’t that ironic? Or is it?
There is so much abundance around us, it is as if the planet herself is busting to show us how much potential, new growth, and abundance lies within each and every one of us. The key is the interconnectedness of it all. While we see all this amazing growth from above ground, the trees, the flowers, the shrubs, the vegetation, what we aren’t seeing is the absolutely mind blowing root structures below the surface. Many studies are being done to show the interwoven connectedness between plant life living together, such as in forests, nature preserves, and other ecosystems. One of my favorite sources on these studies is the book The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. Plants are being recognized for the living beings they are, that they feel and communicate with one another. They work together to nurture and care for new seedlings or send nurturing and substance to ill or elderly plant life. It is a whole other world going on right next to us that most people have no idea even exists. Our natural world works together as a whole, empowering one empowers all.
I suppose the same can be said of our interconnections. The obvious physical connections we have with family, friends, acquaintances, coworkers, and so on are there, but what of the energetic oneness that runs through all of what is living on this Earth. I think we feel glimmers of it when we see strangers perhaps even on the other side of the planet suffering and we feel for them, beyond just empathy, we feel in our soul, their suffering as if it is a part of us there too suffering, because as a whole, it is. Even if we don’t fully recognize the connections we have to every living being on this Earth, it still exists.
We are raised in a very different way than our ancestors before us.
Tribal nations were living as a community, they made decisions and did what was best for the whole. They did not have separate houses of just one family living for itself and within that house separate rooms for each to dwell in further separating the unit. Today we are quite a different evolution of individualistic development. For better or for worse it is where we are. Like one tree planted per acre, no interconnectedness, no support or nourishment when needed, a lonely and harder existance to say the least. Add a computer in front of its nose to distract it from knowing its own weaknesses, add some fear based programming and well we see the results.
I choose to stand with nature, in a world of walls and technology and separation, I seek out the natural world. I watch all that goes on in nature and learn from it, refect on what is happening, and find a sense of grounding, balance, and peace. Of course nature can be unpredictable and quite powerful and destructive at times, and it is always with humility and grace that I connect with her. I don’t know if we will ever go back to communal living, but I do hope our future generations someday put down the phones and computers and go back to communicating with each other and with nature. A world where we can begin to feel the interconnected force that unites us all together, living in abundance and gratitude, leaning to love and grow with the natural world around us. Eating a rich plant based whole diet, grown together in communal gardens. Living in a symbiotic relationship with the Earth.
I deeply believe humanity’s physical and mental well being teeters on a very unstable cliff, yet hanging over our head is a tree branch, will we notice and grab on stepping toward a more natural and stable life or will we step off with our nose in a screen and our thoughts all but programmed to do so?
I choose the branch, how about you?
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