nature

More advice from a tree

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Dear ones, send your roots deep and spread your branches wide. As a living being on this planet it is your birthright to take up your share of sunlight water and nutrients. No more, no less.

Hackberry tree

When you sacrifice the water, nutrients, resources, space, and sunlight that you require to thrive in order to help a weaker being, you only weaken and diminish yourself.

When you sacrifice your own well-being to try and help other healthy adults you are keeping yourself small and stunted. Your health and well being suffer, you have trouble accessing your inner power and your future suffers.

You will never see a tree leaning away from the light!

Sometimes they must lean away from the shade of larger trees, to find their own light. When the larger tree falls, the smaller can shoot up and take its place in the canopy. This is the way of trees.

Of course when you have small children or you are caring for someone who is ill, you will do what you can for them and help them. Yet, even then, you must maintain and take care of your own energy, take some time for yourself, breathe deeply, eat healthfully, get enough sleep and exercise. No one will do it for you!

Do not give up your own precious path, your well made plans, your true heartfelt work, your beloved dreams to try and help those who live in the shadows. You will both be weakened. Once abandoned, your creative and spirit guided life may fade from your consciousness and be forgotten.

To help others in healthy ways that honor your needs, you can show and reflect to them their own inner power, their own strength their own capabilities, their own capacity to plug into the light.

Grandmother Cottonwood

That is what balanced healthy loving is. Letting others find their way according to their purpose here on planet Earth.

My purpose as a tree: Root deeply and reach to the light.

Message from a tree

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Stop awhile on your hike, your walk to work or school, lean against my trunk, absorb my loving energy. I have much to give.

I share my strength, my shade, my beauty with you. You can trust my solidity. My roots anchor me securely. I will not wobble or fall, back away or collapse as you lean your full weight against me. I am here for you, a sure presence.

Grandmother Cottonwood

I share my loving energy with you. What you might call my love is all encompassing. It does not question or expect or judge, it simply radiates like joy from the core of my being, embracing and enriching and interweaving with the entire web of life.

I share my tree wisdom with you. I have weathered many storms, many cold winters, droughts, floods, beating summer suns, loss of limbs, nearby construction projects that have felled many of my companion trees, yet I endure and thrive. I continue to send my roots into the earth for nourishment and reach my branches to the light life-giving sunlight.

Hackberry bark

Those of you who pay attention with your heart and your 5 senses can learn from the trees. You might learn patience in the face of change. You might learn endurance in all seasons, all weather conditions, You might discover a new way to think about unconditional love.

You might learn that to be strong and stable you must develop deep roots and connect with Earth energy. You might learn how to gracefully claim and take up the space that is yours and spread your branches to the light, because it is your birthright.

You can learn much from a tree. Trust, root deep, love, endure.

Winter’s rest

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As the light slowly returns to the sky, as the northern hemisphere of our Earth turns once again toward the light, the energy of all living things slowly shifts into a time of pause and rest as the light grows little by little each day.

Deep midwinter, a time to rest and draw inward, a time to tune into your body and your breath, time to relax and let go of your striving pushing and must do, must have mentality.

Grandmother Cottonwood in winter

Your entire being is exquisitely tuned to the light, the seasons. Trust the wisdom and honor the needs of your body mind and spirit. Yes, you may be able to override your instincts and rhythms for awhile, but at what cost?

When your body requires rest, when your mind requires contemplation and when your heart needs to turn inward, you will have to let go of your expectations for “getting things done” that is so near and dear to the human heart.

Winter is a time to dream, a time to plan, a time to rest. When you empty your mind of whirling thoughts and big ideas and the need to push forward for a time, you make room for fresh new creative energy to enter your life.

Frozen creek

Getting things done, enjoying increased energy, getting started on your pet projects will come in time, my dears. Have patience during the darker colder months. As the light grows, you will gain energy and stamina and your sense of purpose will return.

For now, allow yourself to close your eyes, cover yourself in comfort, breathe, sleep and dream. You rest knowing this time your body needs for renewal will not last forever.

Trust the rhythm of your days, the seasons of your life, the wisdom of your body. Trust the needs and longings of your spirit.

When you love and nurture yourself in this way, you truly know what it is to love yourself unconditionally.

Three worlds

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I, Grandmother Cottonwood, am a magnificent tree. I live in three worlds.

My roots reach deeply into the lower world, pulled by gravity , the magnetic pull of Earth’s core. My roots draw in nourishment and water and all earth elements needed to feed me.

This is the zone of magic, of power, of earthy energies and animal spirits, of ancient knowledge, of survival on this planet. This is the region of Earth wisdom that will feed your souls.

The wisdom of the lower world has been accumulated over millennia from the time our Earth was a swirling mass of gasses, even before life took hold.

All myths, legends, all ancient wisdom resides here. You can tap into their power and richness. They will feed and fuel your growth. As my roots feed me.

I am rooted to the Earth

GCW root zone

My magnificent trunk and large limbs reside in the middle world, the spiritual aspect of the created world. Here I weather storms, bake under a hot summer sun, rest in winter, scatter my seeds in spring. Here I age and witness tired old limbs fall to the earth and others thrive and come into leaf.

I witness my bark growing thicker and tougher each year. I interweave branches and roots with the sycamores, the hack-berries, the thorny locusts, the grasses, the nearby cottonwoods.

Here I interact with the energy, the spirits of those who walk by or who lean against me, those who give me tree hugs.

Our spirits are all one here. All living beings are connected through our invisible energies. Our spirits interweave and overlap whether we know it or not. We communicate and understand each other. Human, plant, animal, insect, Earth.

As a living being on planet Earth, my awareness is centered in my physical reality in this place and time

I am centered in my body.

Grandmother Cottonwood

My smaller branches and tiny twigs, my growing tips and buds, my fine crown of leaves reside in the upper world. This is a place of expansion, of light, of growth, a place of miracles of divine wisdom and divine energies. This is the realm of spirit, of your higher self.

Here the sunlight touches my leaves fueling their growth as they absorb the life giving light. My crown brings the amazing energies of the divine down from the heavens into my body to keep life alive. I reach to the sun, my source of power. I am whole and complete

I am aligned with divine light.

Grandmother Cottonwood in fall

I am rooted to the Earth. I am centered in my body. I am aligned with divine light.

The Evergreens Speak

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We are delighted and proud to bless this Earth with our heavenly fragrances, our beautiful crowns of green all year long, our deep roots that hold and weave the soil into a strong fabric, our spreading branches that shelter and provide homes and food for many living creatures, feathered, winged, fur bearing, six and eight legged.

Cedar in the snow

We take seriously our charge to lovingly shelter your homes, playgrounds, parks, schools and farmsteads, to provide beauty and stability, to act as silent companions to the dead in graveyards, to decorate your homes and places of worship in the dark and cold times of year when all other growing things are brown and sleeping

We are honored to enter into your homes and buildings to provide the structural support of the walls, floors, roofs, the natural beauty of our wood-grain in your trims and furniture. We lovingly share our beauty and our strength with you.

We evergreens spread our cloaks of green standing tall and proud, loving all beings, loving this life, this Earth, sharing sunlight and air with all living creatures, knowing the stones the soil and bedrock, rooted deeply and reaching to the light…

Evergreens in snow

We spread our fragrant green limbs in blessing.

Solstice

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Low angled amber sunlight, long shadows, black skeletons of trees now visible as last summer’s dead leaves whirl away on the wind. Flocks of geese flying in formation.

Grandmother Cottonwood

Shafts of sunlight reach further and further into the house, striking a chord of memory from past winters…

Seeking out and momentarily lighting up hidden corners and far reaches. Illuminating interior hallways…

Inviting for a moment that which is hidden and dark to receive the light, to shine and glow in the clear and rare blessing of the winter solstice:

The slanting amber sunlight that turns all it touches to gold.

Abundance is a state of mind

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Dear friends, I am taking a week off.  I hope this encore post resonates with you.  Happy Thanksgiving! –Betty

Abundance is not just money, coins and dollar bills, It is the world around you – the beauty around you, the people in your life, the land that supports you, the air you breathe, the water that gives you sustenance, the flow of energy through your life.

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Autumn crab apples

Abundance is in nature that surrounds and supports you and gives so freely and generously of her harvests and resources. It is the human made world of clothing and shelter, streets and roads, libraries, hospitals, places of safety and community. Abundance is the inspired offerings of art, music dance, theater, books, movies, writings, design and building, comedy and laughter – all manner of human creations.

Abundance is in the priceless laughter that bubbles up inside you and feeds your spirit! It is the sunlight bringing life to all things. Abundance is the tools, materials, and ideas to create and bring your inspirations to life.

Abundance is the freedom and time to enjoy the changing of the seasons, the gorgeous colors of fall – to take a few moments to watch the golden leaves float and spin and dance as they fall to Earth so they will feed the soil that supports your life.

Abundance is the food and drink on your table, day after day, year after year, nourishing and sustaining your body and soul. It is the loving friends, the helpful strangers, the kind neighbors that touch your heart and help you. It is the purring cats and snuggling dogs that share your life and bring your joy and companionship. Abundance is warm socks and boots on a cold day.

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Painted lady butterfly on red zinnia

Most of all, abundance is in the feelings that flow through you – joy, inspiration, inner calm, soul satisfaction, contentment, happiness…  Even feelings of anger and fear are there for your information and learning, to help you know yourself and learn from life.

Abundance is the feeling of being blessed to overflowing! It is the ability to share the overflow of your blessings with others.

With appreciation, name your blessings and feel the feelings they awaken in you .  Make this your daily practice.

When you feel confident and secure enough to be generous with your blessings, no matter how much money you do or do not have, you are truly living a life of abundance and plenty!

Prairie Seasons

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Now the grasses and wildflowers, brown and gray after the first hard frost, heavy with seed, begin their long sleep under winter’s blanket.  Another year’s growth now dying back, dropping seed onto my dark and ancient soil.

Growing like a riot in the hot and sunny seasons, reaching to the sun, rooting into the earth. Dancing the ancient dance of life on this planet!

Remembering summer, not long past, as our magnificent tall and slender grasses waved in the wind, soaked in the strong sunlight of the endless summer days.

Tall prairie grasses

Remembering the exquisite opalescent skies at dusk.

Remembering our roots reaching deep into the earth to anchor us and draw in nourishment. Remembering our huge network of interwoven roots holding the soil as the storms blew through the rains washed over and pounded our grasses almost flat.

Our deep roots giving grasses taller than a man stability on their slender stems, the strength and resilience to flex and sway with the constant summer breezes, the great masses of big bluestem undulating like waves on the sea, in constant motion.

Here is abundant life in summer! Any bit of open soil claimed by another fallen seed. This beautiful land, a variegated community, a web of growth.

I am home to furbearers, insects of all descriptions, frogs, turtles, snakes, songbirds, birds of prey. Our summer prairie teems with life, teems with promise.

Redwing blackbird

Now in late fall a time of rest as the sun turns its face to the south, draining warmth from the land.  Now  we fold our tents, burrow deep, send life down into our roots, slow our breathing and hearts to sleep awhile, out of the freezing cold.

Wildflower seedheads

Our summer has been a riot of color, growth, raucous birdsong, feeding butterflies, burrowing mice, dancing green grasses, blooming wildflowers. 

And now it is our season to rest and renew ourselves for next year’s gathering, our exuberant celebration of life under the huge dome of sky and light that gives us life.

The waters speak

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We, the various waters of the Earth, journey effortlessly across and through the land, finally reaching the great water where we gather together as one water.

From billions of tiny raindrops, thousands of streams lakes and rivers we flow downstream and merge into oneness – the global ocean.

We must flow and find our level, seeking the effortless path, carving the landscapes gullies, canyons, wide river valleys, woodland streams, prairie pot holes, wetlands, huge deep lakes on our journey to the great oneness.

We come together in the great oceans and seas, heaving and swelling, rippling or calm. Life giving. Life affirming. All our tiny drops melding into one mighty water. Then we separate again, as billions of our droplets evaporate and merge effortlessly with the air.

As water vapor we gather to create clouds, fall as rain, sleet snow, or hail and begin our long journey once again to the gathering place of all waters.

We begin our journey once again as we fall to Earth, gathering with other waters, becoming stronger and more powerful as we increase in volume.

We make our way downstream, meandering and slow or rushing in flood, blessing your Earth with the gift of life as we flow through and shape your varied landscapes.

Finally we reach our mother waters and pour into her. We cannot flow back upstream, or undo our transformation to salt water as we reach our destination.

We are the sacred waters of the Earth. We are the stuff of life.

Do you live by the clock?

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What strange ideas you humans choose to rule your lives. For example, the group-think/ hypnosis of the clock; turning it backward or forward an hour twice a year, pretending it won’t affect your body, mind and spirit.

Those in charge make ridiculous rules regarding clocks that do not factor in your true nature, your needs for consistent patterns and rhythms to life, your body’s need to respond to light and dark.

The clock at first was a human created tool and method for dividing time into segments. Now is is a way to control your seconds, moments, your hours and days when you eat, work sleep…

Alarming clock

You must realize that your bodies are intricate systems designed to respond effortlessly to light and dark and every nuance in between. You begin to stir and wake as the sun rises, increase your activity as the light fills the sky, you grow sleepy at dusk, then sleep deeply during the dark hours of night.

Your body’s internal light sensors are closely attuned to the brightness of the sky, the seasons, the turning of the year.

These silly rules of time keeping invented by someone without your best interest at heart would override thousands of centuries of living by the sun, your natural body clock. You would give this up and allow the ticking little mechanism that measures out the minutes to keep you corralled and domesticated.

Humans have allowed those in charge to turn the population away from their true nature as children of the sun and moon, light and dark, attuned to the seasons, trusting the body, living in harmony with the larger patterns and rhythms of the earth, or our solar system, our moon and the stars.

All I ask is why?

Perhaps the clock can be a kind of helpful tool in your life as you trust your body to master time, light and dark. Allow the clock to serve you, not the reverse.