Tags
Pile of big sticks
For some reason I seem to think it is part of my mission in life to share small insights with you. Dear readers, I hope you will not think it too self indulgent of me to share the following…
Some days our psyches need to do some catching up, a bit like a computer that is processing information. Yesterday was one of those days for me. Yesterday my intuition said, more strongly than usual, ‘Time out.’
Doing something that seemed like nothing was (apparently) where I needed to be. And soon I found myself in front of a pile of large sticks at the top of the driveway. I would break big sticks into little sticks, for fire starters. Really? We no longer have a wood-burning stove… I do surprise myself sometimes. Not being inclined to ignore intuition, legs, arms, back and mind all went to work, snapping and cracking and stretching and whirring (the mind not the arms!)
Pile of little sticks
Thoughts drifted into and out of my head…. Dad telling us to ‘police up the yard’ when we were kids. Translation: pick up the sticks laying everywhere. We always groaned. It was like punishment then, like therapy now. Also I remembered someone saying about chopping wood, ‘it warms you twice, once when you chop it and the second time when you burn it’. And I thought, my little sticks might even warm a third time if I gave them to someone with a wood-burner, all snapped into perfect lengths ready to use. Such a little gift might warm their heart.
Crunch…pop…rrrrip…crack… I cried thinking about how much Mom and Dad loved us when we were tiny and how lucky we were to have a safe home and parents who wanted the best for us. Snap…crack… more tears after watching a one minute video (Gretchen Ruben: The years are short) about enjoying the present with our children. Also it reminds me to be present for my own life, every minute of every day.
Crack…crunch…snap…Breaking sticks was moving meditation, bringing me into the present, giving me the space to feel, and to see the new growth in the garden, and in my life. Never underestimate the power of doing a something that seems like nothing.
Blossoming grevillea
Newly sprouted Sturt Desert Pea
ardysez 
Before we can cut the grass at mom’s we have to pick up all the sticks that have fallen. I helped dad do that for so many years and then I did it for him when I could and now I do it feeling like he is watching over me. I will miss doing this seemingly simple task when I no longer have the opportunity. Pretty sure that I am the only one that attaches meaning to this at mom’s. Everyone else sees it as extra lawn work.
LikeLike
And that is why we have been best friends all these years. We see the meaning, or at least look for it. I had an odd feeling, for the first time, that my Dad was around me, too. XX
LikeLike
I love the photos that accompany this beautiful post. The hole in the glove, the bright fiery red of the grevillea flower and the colours of your sticks and hints of the soil. Do you get an autumn or winter in the heart of Australia, how do the plants know what to do when? I have lots of Australian origin plants in my garden, and they flower at unexpected times, causing me to wonder what they are responding too. I followed my time out needs this morning and abandoned my guests briefly to walk the dogs early. They had barely got up for breakfast by the time I came home again and I had a good walking meditation under the trees while it was still cool, down by the almost empty stream. I like the sound of you breaking up sticks and the accompanying thoughts. I might go and do a little weeding now inspired by you 🙂
LikeLike
I wondered who, if anyone, would notice the hole in the glove! I’m surprised you have Australian plants. Yes we have winter, a high of 17C here yesterday and as I write this early morning it is only 8C. We have minus temps overnight in the middle of winter but no snow. Heavy frost though. In Southern cities most of the population is near the coast and they tend not to get quite as cold, but they get a lot of grey rainy days. The tiny Sturt Desert Pea plant has popped up after a rain we had a couple of weeks ago. They are very particular about what causes them to sprout and growing them from seed except when they are self-seeded is nearly impossible. I’ll post a photo if it blooms while I’m in town. Weeding is another satisfying job ripe for meditation, enjoy. X
LikeLike