Thunder rolls dark clouds across window panes on the homestead, I pray for rain. Our soils are thirsty and need all the hydration they can get. Stacks of seeds await their destiny in the vegetable garden, and I as planter, guardian, and nourisher of life, bless them and pray they give us nourishment in return. I am once again amazed by our connection, the connection between us, plants and growers, or maybe better yet, hopers. To plant a tiny seed, is but a radical act of faith that it will swell with moisture, break itself open, and unfurl new life to nourish and sustain. Reminds me of being a mama.
And yet, we are all bound together, plants and people, dependent upon one another for nourishment and growth, creating a web of life extending to include animals, all living creatures, both great and small.
We are but one of those living creatures, animals, living beings soul connected to the synergistic web of life, for us the priviledge is great. We have been entrusted with creation to steward, nourish and sustain it, as well as ourselves. A beautiful trust of the natural world, a grace not to be taken lightly, but reverently as we understand sacred connection and the sanctity of life.
In order for the food we eat to nourish our bodies and souls, it has to have life. It cannot be rendered lifeless and dead in cardboard boxes, tin cans, and pasturized plastic sterile containers. Life grows in the soil, it has roots, living limbs reaching for sunlight.
Growth happens according to the creative patterns in nature, the wildness and the freedom to spontaneously adapt to individualized surroundings. That is why my carrots do not taste the same as your carrots, even though we may be neighbors.
I believe that is a miracle.
Life is created wild and free and that very freedom and wildness is where it not only survives, but thrives. I believe that we, the people, the holy beings, entrusted with creation, mirror that same pattern–We also not only survive, but thrive when we live as a part of the creative process, wildly and freely experiencing the connections to our food, to our environment, and our maker.
That too is a miracle.
Bringing back sacred connection to what we choose to eat, and where we choose to source it from, whether my garden, or my neighbors garden, allows us to become once again an integral part of our sacred connection to the web of life. Becoming reconnected, dialing in, builds strong bodies, hearts, families, and communities, with neighbor supporting neighbor, family supporting family, building at once independence and interdependence upon each other and creation. Having faith that we can uphold sacred contracts with the earth and with each other.
The simple act of planting a tiny seed in fertile soil can have miraculous outcomes with bounty and beauty to be shared by all. Grab a pot, till a plot, dig a hole, grab your children, or your grandchildren, or anyone else’s child, and plant a tiny seed of the wild and free found in creation, speak to connection to one another, to the earth, to our source, teach the next generation that it is not all about “You,” rather it is all about “Us,” and our connection to the sacred.
Feel your hands in earth, grow some roots, reap a thankful bounty to share freely with others, have faith that your tiny seed will grow into something more.
Revel in delight that you have said YES to life for yourself, and the natural world that sustains you.
Welcome home to the wild and free, dear one.
P.S. While you are at it, you might as well get some chickens. Just sayin’. 😉
wendy snobl 