.the season of lush abundance.

 

The season of lush abundance, the tiny space right before spring wilts into summer. The days are stretching out to the furthest corners. The light enters my room some time before 4:50 AM, so early. I'm not greeting the day anymore, instead waking up to the glow. It feels so comforting to wake up to a warmed house instead of the dark starts, although I do miss watching the day slowly rise. It's this time in the year I wonder how much sleep I actually need. Can I spend every moment with the light? Maybe I should get up earlier. 

I've been outside, a lot. I want to see it all, greet all the flowers, not miss any tiny transitions. the moments, the blooms, the colors are so lush. Everything feels more beautiful in this shoulder season.

All of a sudden Memorial Day weekend came and went, summer is here. I'm in disbelief and so grateful all at once. It feels like this unknown year continues to surprise me. What a gift to be surprised and open.

I would love to live like a river flows, 
carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.

—John O’Donohue

The season of lush abundance, like that moment on a new hike with a winding path, you turn the corner and find the unexpected/the awe - a new landscape - a new connection, overwhelmed by the beauty and grateful to be so fully surprised by the magic of life. What a honor to be greeted by the unbelievable mystery. 

To be alive. 

To connect. 

To feel seen. 

To travel all these pathways and find tenderness. 

Maybe I was always on my way to this moment. I don't know what's ahead. Who would want to know - who would need to - that's where the magic lives, the unknown, the splendor, the overwhelm, the reverence. As John O'Donohue says, “when we enter into reverence, we are aware of the deep beauty of things” and “a sense of reverence opens pathways of beauty to surprise us.” Yes! I've been reading a lot of O'Donohue lately. He's someone who saw and felt the tenderness of life deeply. 

The balasmaroot season was such a creative container for me this year, working on pieces both in fiber and metal. I'm finished several projects as the season was ending, a quilt and a small series of earrings. It's feels good to finish with the moment and be open to what comes next. With the heat rising and the colors fading.What will the next season bring/reveal to me?

I went on a walk yesterday and had another moment of surprise, milkweed! Such an incredible bloom with so much purpose. The color and blooms were awe-inducing and I immediately wanted to make a quilt. I'm thinking about colors and have plans to dye fabric this weekend. 

I'm also listening/reading to a lot of Michael Singer. I really connected to something he shared on a recent podcast,

"All things are life. You have to attain a state where your state of consciousness is. The planet does not belong to me. And the people on the planet don't belong to me. I am a guest, a visitor. I'm here for a few years spinning around the sun.

I'm happy to be alive. I'm happy to have these experiences happen. I am the Self, the Atman. I sit behind. I watch the world dance. And I watch the humans react and respond. All of which is beautiful. I'm willing to learn about everything. I'm willing to experience everything, Alpha to Omega.

Light and darkness are the same to me. Beacause I am the one who sees them both. That's what it means to be transcendent."

It offered such a moment of deep clarity. Of course that's it - I'm willing to experience everything. Life is an experience. 

How can I continue to ground into myself/life experience with greater perspective that allows me to be present to and hold all these experiences and layers of life?