Reclaiming My Sunshine!
Posted by Earth Mama on Friday, May 6, 2011
Originally written Monday, April 19, 2010
So, I met this truly incredible woman last Friday, her name is Grandmother Elk. The synchronicity leading up to the meeting was uncanny & undeniable, if you are someone like me who pays attention to the never ending signs, symbols, animal guides, even the red flags that life provides & sometimes throws up at us quite literally on a daily basis.
Our initial meeting lasted a few hours in the company of some very dear to my heart friends. Grandmother had spiritual medicine for each of us. Pointing out our physical illnesses as well as our spiritual blockages. It was absolutely AMAZING that this woman knew soooo much about each one of us & yet, on the other side of the coin, did not even know any of us on a personal level. Lynda was the first to meet her back during the holidays & was so impressed with her that she could not wait for the opportunity to introduce me to her. Jules was just fortunate enough to have come down to visit from Wisconsin, being here during the time this meeting was scheduled.
Anyways, the medicine of the day was "The Strength of the Oak" and how the woman is the Oak Tree. The Oak is the only tree in the world that has a root system that perfectly matches the branch system above, providing a perfect semblance of balance & grounding. And we, as women, are to be as The Oak in doing the same for our family, friends & those within our sphere of influence within our communities.
So, yesterday I took my dear friend & Sister out to Mystery Dog Ranch, just to show her the beauty of the land in which Heartland (an organization I was affiliated with for about 4 years) now calls home. We no sooner made it out the door and the view of sunlight coming thru a tree in the yard of the apartment complex I live caught my attention. As I looked up through the leaves, it was as if the sun made each new leaf glow with the radiance of Spring...and the tree is an Oak. I knew, at that very moment that it was going to be a beautiful day on many levels.
We arrived at the ranch and took ourselves a walk thru the back pastures, along a path that follows the creek. With each step there was something to amaze & wonder over. The fields were full of flowers that provided sporadic blankets of yellow across them. Some of the most beautiful specimens of trees along that path were Oaks. It was as if Mother Nature was making sure that the medicine in the lesson Grandmother Elk provided us would integrate into the very core of our being.
And to be honest, I have not been much of an Oak for my family in recent times. My health and many other extenuating influences have most certainly been much like poison having been poured upon my roots, in turn putting me out of balance & losing my own sense of grounding.
Its quite amazing how the influence of an unhealthy individual in your life can have such a negative effect on the spiritual self. No matter the type of relationship, whether it is your boss, your spouse, a neighbor, or even a close friend, if their own spirit is out of balance and they are unable to recognize this within themselves, they can become much like Kudzu, as their energy spreads all over the place, covering over everything else. Instead of developing their own solid roots & trunk (spirit) and growing upward on their own, their growth (energy) scatters & grows to the point of smothering & even killing whatever "host" they have managed to find...all in an effort to essentially hog up all the sunlight...and without sunlight, nothing can continue to grow in a healthy fashion.
Thankfully, I came to this realization within my own life & realized that several "Kudzu-like" influences had to go, so I got me some "goats" (one of the few environmentally friendly ways to get rid of Kudzu, lol) and got rid of those unhealthy influences. Now I am in a space of being able to reclaim my own share of sunshine. Altho the health is still a pretty serious issue at this point, with some proper tending to my own roots & spirit, I can better facilitate healthy care & recovery for myself.
No matter how many times this Mighty Oak may get struck by lightning or encroached upon by Kudzu, she WILL stand tall, continue to grow (in learning) & provide shade (balance & grounding) for those in need of it.
So, I met this truly incredible woman last Friday, her name is Grandmother Elk. The synchronicity leading up to the meeting was uncanny & undeniable, if you are someone like me who pays attention to the never ending signs, symbols, animal guides, even the red flags that life provides & sometimes throws up at us quite literally on a daily basis.
Our initial meeting lasted a few hours in the company of some very dear to my heart friends. Grandmother had spiritual medicine for each of us. Pointing out our physical illnesses as well as our spiritual blockages. It was absolutely AMAZING that this woman knew soooo much about each one of us & yet, on the other side of the coin, did not even know any of us on a personal level. Lynda was the first to meet her back during the holidays & was so impressed with her that she could not wait for the opportunity to introduce me to her. Jules was just fortunate enough to have come down to visit from Wisconsin, being here during the time this meeting was scheduled.
Anyways, the medicine of the day was "The Strength of the Oak" and how the woman is the Oak Tree. The Oak is the only tree in the world that has a root system that perfectly matches the branch system above, providing a perfect semblance of balance & grounding. And we, as women, are to be as The Oak in doing the same for our family, friends & those within our sphere of influence within our communities.
So, yesterday I took my dear friend & Sister out to Mystery Dog Ranch, just to show her the beauty of the land in which Heartland (an organization I was affiliated with for about 4 years) now calls home. We no sooner made it out the door and the view of sunlight coming thru a tree in the yard of the apartment complex I live caught my attention. As I looked up through the leaves, it was as if the sun made each new leaf glow with the radiance of Spring...and the tree is an Oak. I knew, at that very moment that it was going to be a beautiful day on many levels.
We arrived at the ranch and took ourselves a walk thru the back pastures, along a path that follows the creek. With each step there was something to amaze & wonder over. The fields were full of flowers that provided sporadic blankets of yellow across them. Some of the most beautiful specimens of trees along that path were Oaks. It was as if Mother Nature was making sure that the medicine in the lesson Grandmother Elk provided us would integrate into the very core of our being.
And to be honest, I have not been much of an Oak for my family in recent times. My health and many other extenuating influences have most certainly been much like poison having been poured upon my roots, in turn putting me out of balance & losing my own sense of grounding.
Its quite amazing how the influence of an unhealthy individual in your life can have such a negative effect on the spiritual self. No matter the type of relationship, whether it is your boss, your spouse, a neighbor, or even a close friend, if their own spirit is out of balance and they are unable to recognize this within themselves, they can become much like Kudzu, as their energy spreads all over the place, covering over everything else. Instead of developing their own solid roots & trunk (spirit) and growing upward on their own, their growth (energy) scatters & grows to the point of smothering & even killing whatever "host" they have managed to find...all in an effort to essentially hog up all the sunlight...and without sunlight, nothing can continue to grow in a healthy fashion.
Thankfully, I came to this realization within my own life & realized that several "Kudzu-like" influences had to go, so I got me some "goats" (one of the few environmentally friendly ways to get rid of Kudzu, lol) and got rid of those unhealthy influences. Now I am in a space of being able to reclaim my own share of sunshine. Altho the health is still a pretty serious issue at this point, with some proper tending to my own roots & spirit, I can better facilitate healthy care & recovery for myself.
No matter how many times this Mighty Oak may get struck by lightning or encroached upon by Kudzu, she WILL stand tall, continue to grow (in learning) & provide shade (balance & grounding) for those in need of it.