Welcome January

It's really winter now. And with it - for me - comes the most earnest of the quiet time, still time, and inner time that I experience throughout the whole of the year's turning. Yet, unlike the rather indulgent dark days that lean into winter, these dark days have a light that shines progressively brighter on that which is vital, that which must be seen, that which cannot be denied. As the calendar flips and winter sinks roots, I see myself, winged, flying under an obscure wire. As I reflect on the mystery in this portrayal, I also pull it into the cryptic  guidance received from my full year reading. As I do, I see the roots that have coiled, curled, and grown around one another since my new year in November. I gaze outward from a perched position into the shared garden of life and ponder the mysteries that are broadcast there. I sense the plants - their roots and seeds - luring me deeper into their subtle seduction. In this place we - the plants and I - lean into one another, and at once I observe the plants recoiling from others. I hear their tacit longing and feel - yet again - a fathomless heart tug to be a better champion... for them, for the earth, for all life. And an oath is renewed. I glide throughout this terrain that they - my beloved botanicals, my rooted ancestors - reveal to me. I listen intently for their expressions. I hear and feel a deep-reaching blessing wrench from the roots of my heart's actions and axioms. And without doubt or question, I know that the plants want more of this kind of attention. From all of us. And an oath is renewed. Peace. 🕊