I invite you to Stop!!!!! And notice how this poem resonates with you...
I know, you never intended to be in this world.
But you’re in it all the same.
So why not get started immediately.
I mean, belonging to it.
There is so much to admire, to weep over.
And to write music or poems about.
Bless the feet that take you to and fro.
Bless the eyes and the listening ears.
Bless the tongue, the marvel of taste.
Bless touching.
You could live a hundred years, it’s happened.
Or not.
I am speaking from the fortunate platform
of many years,
none of which, I think, I ever wasted.
Do you need a prod?
Do you need a little darkness to get you going?
Let me be as urgent as a knife, then,
and remind you of Keats,
so single of purpose and thinking, for a while,
he had a lifetime.
~Mary Oliver
I wonder if the plants feel this way when they emerge in the spring - that they ‘never intended to be in this world’? As I revel in the wild displays of fragrance, colour and texture of this spring awakening many feelings emerge. This morning it was a hint of grief – 35 years ago last week since my brother died and that changed my life forever. It never occurred to me that we would not grow old together, and in an instant it felt as if my childhood had disappeared. And now our physical journey together is a precious memory which I visit occasionally with joy and sorrow mixed.
I feel that, as humans, we don’t much talk any more about what’s really important or the inevitable life experiences – birth through life to death. And somehow Spring is a poignant reminder of that – what’s really important. Already I have welcomed and said goodbye to Snowdrops and Crocuses and marvel at the joy I feel when they emerge and the wistfulness I feel when they are gone. And in my head I know that it will be another whole year before I see them again.
I also marvel at their urgency to express themselves, pushing through hard cold soil and accumulations of leaves and dirt to express their perfection. I wonder sometimes why most humans do not seem to express that same urgency?
In Chinese Medicine the season of Spring is connected to new beginnings and to manifesting our soul purpose or our life purpose. I feel like Mary Oliver’s poem is a call to action – Don’t delay. We never know how much time we have – just like Keats, who thought he had a lifetime.
Spring is also a time of cleansing, so that there is space in your Body/Mind to welcome the possibilities of growth and new directions. I can’t think of anything more nourishing and life supporting than spending time in Nature to tap into these possibilities within you and to be able to hear your own inner knowing of what is ‘right action’ for you. It is why we offer our retreat every year, because the transformation in peoples’ lives has been astonishing after spending a week in Nature disconnected from the cares and concerns of their normal daily lives! I love seeing the ‘Ahas’ of delight as individuals tap into new information about themselves and the world we live in.
Learn more about our Five Elements Retreat here.
