Apple tree,
You share your gift of love so freely.
Your blossom is beauty made manifest.
I want to capture it,
To bottle it and have it with me always.
But I know it cannot be so,
For beauty is free and will always be.
It cannot be tamed, or caged, or held on to.
Beauty is what is left when fear drops away.
Beauty is your home,
And it is who you really are.

All living things grow from rich compost, and so often it is the things that we let go of and the experiences of suffering we have had along the way that enable our beauty to really flourish.

Look under the water,
A newt in hot pursuit!

It’s really amazing what you can see going on beneath the surface of ponds and rivers. There is life going on under there even when we can’t see - when the water is dark and murky, or when it is frozen. For people as well, there is much going on underneath. The Waters are often thought of as primal, old and wild energies, and you may notice that there are waterholes around that are fenced in for our “safety”, to stop anyone falling into such wildness. If you’re feeling brave, and feeling ready for a new challenge and a great reward, start looking into your own wild places. See what lurks beneath the surface of who you think you are. And when the time comes - take the plunge!

Roots as big as crown,
Don’t forget, don’t forget;
Deep under the ground,
Get them wet, get them wet.

It is tempting to look out at a natural scene and simply see what is presented to you, what is visible and obvious on the surface. But take the time to consider that for every plant and tree above ground there is a root system below ground, anchoring, supporting, and drawing up nourishment. Now look again. Feel into the ground below, into the space beneath. We too have these hidden places, there below the surface. Feel into them now and then. We are not what we appear to be.

Rumble of the Heavens,
Shake us up!

When there’s a storm going on, there is no way we can forget how powerful Nature is. Sometimes we need this show of power, to remind us to wake up to what’s really going on. It can be easy to coast along, to waste time, to wallow in mediocrity. Let the sound of thunder be your wake up call. Let it shake you up and alert you to life right now.

Know when to flap and when to glide,
That’s how to flow with Life.

The real school is out there, among the birds and the bees and the wind and the rain. And once again my observations have taught me something precious and powerful. If we are to flow with Life, then we must surrender and accept. But this is not passive acceptance. This is not giving up and being blown about by the wind anywhere. It’s still about applying efforts, but doing so at the right time, in the right way.

When you need to flap, flap! When it’s time to develop your spiritual muscles, push on through your obstacles. Be sensitive to changes in situations, and be ready to glide (and I don’t know how I resisted this rhyme in the poem) and enjoy the ride!

The wind blows through me,
Though where it comes from,
And where it goes,
I do not know.
It is a gift,
It tells me I’m alive. 

What can I say? I love a windy day.

I can only guess at what’s going on here. A rare shot though, to be sure. The double spiral. The inward journey, and the outward journey. We travel on both of these, learning more about ourselves by going within, and learning more about ourselves by getting out into the world. And let’s not forget that double helix that’s so important for us biological types: strands and strands of DNA, the building blocks of life.