Flowering offering of rest — at Hidcote Gardens, Hidcote Bartrim, England (June 2014)
Part of keeping the soul moist is allowing oneself to be refilled by the waters of space, rest, openness and attuning to our natural rhythms. It involves tending to the sensory, intuitive-animal part of the body and listenly deeply to its longings and wisdom.
I get that this is often easier said than done.
For me, I am learning how to give myself this space. Instead of waiting until I have run myself ragged.
Our bodies and souls need freedom, space, loving attention and a return to our inherent wholeness — our natural state.
Time to be receptive. To slow down. To have open spaces. To be in nature.
This kind of space and deep rest is something we can only give ourselves. I’m painfully aware that the only thing that stands in the way of these kind of open spaces and soul tending is me.
All the goodness I desire, all the things that most nourish me, are always present when I want them.
Beauty, wonder, love, stillness, contentment, gratitude, appreciation, the natural world, space.
It’s always present — all the time. For all of us.
A few weeks ago I took the Labor Day weekend as a kind of at-home retreat. It wasn’t planned, but it was so very needed.
I slept out in my cottage by myself that weekend to dream my own dreams and be in my own space. I read, I journaled, I moved slowly and without a plan.
In those three days of space and stillness, I felt a fullness and a roundedness as if connecting with an underground spring. In this place, ideas, words, and the wisdom of my soul come flowing in.
One night, I stood outside of the cottage. The sky was clear and filled with so many stars. More stars than I have ever seen.
They filled the night sky with such magic and mystery that it made my heart swoon with its enormity.
This is what making space offers us.
The chance to see how vast, abundant, expansive and glittering our lives are, just as they are, right now. How vast we are, too. Us shining souls — each borne of special starlight and traveling from the fartherest reaches of the Universe to arrive exactly where we are right now.
This is what I am learning about my own soul care. How making space and keeping my soul moist is what allows me to do my work and fully live. It gives me strength and reconnects me to my purpose. It allows me to recharge so my own unique light can stay ignited.