Stir, Rumble, Shake
“What shape waits in the seed of you
to grow and spread its branches
against a future sky?”–David Whyte
art by Lisa Murphey via Pinterest
Can you hear them…the subtle rumblings of new life under the surface?
Deep within the belly of the earth, the seeds are stirring. Waking from their long slumber, they are turning towards the light.
Shells crack, tender shoots break forth. They follow the pull of sunlight through heavy dark soil toward a horizon yet unknown.
Listen. What whispers of new life are stirring in you?
Or as poet David Whyte puts it:
What shape waits in the seed of you
to grow and spread its branches
against a future sky?
Today is Imbolc, a cross-quarter day in the Celtic wheel of the year that celebrates these first signs of spring, the whispers of life returning even in the midst of winter’s dark dreaming.
Imbolc means “in the belly.”
I love this image of seeds awakening in the belly of mama earth. It’s a reminder of the generative power of the fertile darkness. How everything is born from the dark.
I place one hand on my own belly and breathe deeply into its soft wisdom, the seat of my own gut knowing, to feel what is here.
artist unknown via Pinterest
After two years of intensive personal composting, of releasing old forms of identity and outdated ways of being, I feel how rich and fertile my soil is from all the leaves and rot. So much life here!
And I can feel the energy of a large external shift rumbling in response, waiting to come into the light.
It feels expansive and large…and also scary!
Almost immediately, I notice a constriction in response. My belly tightens. My shoulders tense. My Inner Critic awakens to warn me that I better tone it down, play it safe, push those seedlings back underground.
I wonder if you can relate?
The fact is, for most of us, change is really hard.
I breathe some love to these anxious inner protectors, acknowledge their fears and reassure them I will do my best to keep us safe. I remind them we are rooted in love. They quiet down for now, but I know that this will be an ongoing conversation as I lean into the change.
The energy of emergence is challenging.
It takes real vulnerability for a tender seedling to come out into the light.
When we step towards our own emergence, it’s normal to encounter aspects of ourselves that resist. These parts are what Tokopa Turner calls the “henchman of the status quo” and Amanda Verdery Young names our “sub-conscientious objectors.”
Although terribly activating, such inner resistance is normal. And when faced with these inner protectors, it’s important to be ever so gentle. Most often, they are tender, young parts of ourselves who long ago internalized the “rules of survival” before we had any true agency or power.
Under their anxious protests often lie our own unmet needs and unhealed wounds from childhood. These protective voices shine a light on precisely where our own soil needs some loving tending.
Growth rarely comes without growing pains. Our constriction is as much a part of our growth as is our expansion.
Inhale, exhale.
Expand, contract.
Like the beating of birds wings, this is how we learn to fly.
art by Lucy Campbell
Just as the seed reaches towards the sun, the authentic life in you cannot help but move towards emergence.
Life is always wanting to make more of itself. And our bodies, souls and psyches naturally move us towards wholeness.
In my compost pile at home, it is not uncommon to take the lid off and see that a discarded pumpkin seed or avocado pit has decided to sprout.
And so it is with us. When we tend well to the soil of our lives, our own growth cannot be contained.
If you are looking for support in tending to your inner soil, I invite you to check out 1:1 Soul Tending a contemplative container designed to help you deepen into your innate wisdom, attune to the voice of your soul, and come home to the truth of who you most deeply are.
Imbolc blessings, dear heart.
May your holy hunger stir you towards the light. And may you be met with nourishment and love so that all that is tender within you may grow in beauty.
Pssst….know someone who might like this post? Pass it on!
Tending to the wisdom of body and soul is what 1:1 Soul Tending is all about. Click to learn more.
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Hello, dear one. I’m Stephanie.
As a Soul Companion, educator, and sacred space holder, I am passionate about deepening our connection to the earth, our bodies, and the divine mystery that dances in all that is.
Let’s journey together into the sacred wild!
