Keen of the Earth

In an instant—everything changed.

Two years ago last autumn, I had the opportunity to return to a part of my roots, to visit the land my grandfather was born and raised in and to feel the same soil and rocks beneath my feet.  Little did I realize at the time that this would actually begin one of the deepest soul journeys of my life.  

There are certain moments in our lives that stop us in our tracks and make us re-question our core beliefs and how we see the world.  Moments that make you realize there is still so much more at foot than we understand and that some things are just too strong to ignore.  This was certainly one of those moments for me!

I see now that I was not drawn to visit this land from a place of personal longing and curiosity as I first believed, but rather my very bones were pulling me toward the call they had heard singing from the land itself.  It was not until I had journeyed into the center of the mountain through old mining tunnels and caverns, that I began to hear the call myself.  What I heard though was not just a call, but a harrowing lament, a scream from the very bones of Earth, a keen like no other, and it brought me literally to my knees in tears and sobs as I felt what she felt.

Standing in the heart of what used to be a flourishing mine, I heard the moan and deep ache of a mother.  As I exited the mine and stood by the flowing waters of the rivers, streams and lakes that continued to flow over and around her, and the busy lives of everyone rushing past, I felt a sharp pain in my gut that dropped me to my knees.  Mother Earth was wailing for the loss of her loved ones, her cherished jewels, her children.  She had opened herself up, shared herself and her cherished treasures with us to help us, teach us, support us.  She did this all too willingly out of deep seeded love and connection.  But we have taken and taken and forgotten the hand that first offered it; we have forgotten the love that it came with; we have forgotten the songs she sang to us and the dances she taught us to lighten the toils of life; we have forgotten the stories we shared together day after day through all the years.  Still she waits by the hearth of her internal fire, a mother waiting for her child to find their way home, waiting for us to come back and remember, to learn again her language of love so that it may once again restore the rivers of love that flow through us all, to the vibrant potential of life that is truly and magically possible.

When I stood up and opened my tear stained eyes, I began to see the waters through her tears and I began to not only see the pain in heartache and the loss in business, but I also began to see the sparkle of the evening light dancing delicately through the ripples.  I saw the soft colours of sunset begin to hold her watery tears with the gentle compassion of a lover, and I felt her sorrow soften and the whisper of hope play in the breeze.  I heard her wail begin to ease and a hum begin to grow again, a low and knowing hum from her very bones, calling more and more of her children back home.  I knew then that this had been so much more than just a moment for me to witness her, but that it had also been a meaningful moment for her.  There had been a reciprocal expansion between myself and Mother Earth; just as I had met her, she too had felt me, seen me and met me.  It had been my homecoming and she had been delighted to hold me within her walls.  We had shared so much more than just time.  We had shared connection and knowing and time to listen and be with each other.  Time had slowed down and even stilled for us, and a savouring of what life could be was re-awakened in us both.  It was delicious.

As the sun continued to set and the colours changed from rich vibrant reds and golds to the deeper tones of blue and black of the coming night, I felt my own bones begin to hum the same knowing - it is time to remember and to come back home, it is time to relearn the exquisite beauty this life and this body hold, it is time to be held again and to hold, it is time to let our waters flow and carry us back to a vibrant love affair with what it truly means to be alive.

Two years later I am still humming with my bones and have had many more adventures with the Earth and this life.  I continue to learn more about what it means to be human, a woman, a mother, a healer, and a fairy in human clothes :) and I continue to learn what it means to be in living relationship with our body and the space that holds it.  What has changed, is the volume of the music - it has gotten progressively louder and cannot be ignored anymore.

Mother Earth is singing with all her heart and soul and I hear her.  I hear you Mother, and after many years of trying to do it all, I see now I must finally turn my whole body towards the music and allow myself to dance.  Come the new year, I will be dedicating my time to teaching, mentoring and sharing.  I will no longer be offering clinical sessions but will instead be offering you real and practical tools and wisdom to care for yourself as the beautiful, capable, living landscape that you are and to help you navigate your own pathway back to vibrant life in relationship with your body and the Earth. 

If you would like to join me in the discovery of this pathway back home, please add your name to the garden bench to receive the invitation to enter the Sol Garden when it is ready.

"The hum calls from deep within, deep within the seed of life and like a golden droplet of nectar to our souls, it nourishes us, invigorates us, inspires us to live with love. 

It is carried & dancing with life in our blood."

~Sol Gardener~