tiNy CirCleS

The rhythmic beep-beep of reminder when the day is yet dark, and there are warm bodies still nestled at my side... I rise.

"If people stand in a circle long enough, they'll eventually begin to dance." — George Carlin, Napalm and Silly Putty​

​The rhythmic beep-beep of reminder when the day is yet dark, and there are warm bodies still nestled at my side... I rise.

​::: Photo Credit - Brooklyn Marvin @ Rose Mountain Photography :::

It is the tiniest sliver of ritual.

The rhythmic beep-beep of reminder when the day is yet dark, and there are warm bodies still nestled at my side... I rise.
A promise that conjoins my past & future self in this one, tentative moment - deciding once again - 
Just how shall I be?

​Before the light dawns and coffee begins to do its enticing little song inside the pot...
I take my body through the undulations of an agreement, a previously-set-forth remedy and recipe for what ails me and what calls to me as well.

......

I married a visual artist.  
A decision that continues to confound and amaze me every day.
It's startling how differently our minds can frame the world before us. 
"I adored algebra," I tell him.  
Lighting up with fondness of remembrance for the bearded, be-spectacled high school teacher who addressed us all by surname:
"Miss Day, can you please come forward and find for us the value of x?"
The way it explained the world before you in perfect, linear formulaic fashion.
If you did the steps precisely, a clear and discernible outcome awaited you at journey's end.


I loathed Geometry.
Too much abstraction.  
No clear narrative from A to B.  
Lengthy & confusing layovers sometimes at C, D, & E.
And still somehow ending up at L or P or Y - when you all wanted was the X, dammit.

My south-pawed, right-brained artist mate found solace in the shapes and configurations there.
Examining the angles inside a wave so as to position himself just so to ride the foaming surface to its wake.
The right proportion of negative space atop a canvas that makes the dance of color and imagery beside it glow.
The perfect metaphor for Crafting a Life.

He says to me:::
Start at the center and build concentric circles around it.
A thing to which I immediately say, "Huh?"

But as he explains it, this sphere-shaped theorem of his... a clearer image begins to take hold.

What's in the middle?
Your heart and your body and your head and the most basic tools at your disposal.  
What you feed yourself on the cellular level of things.
Blooming out into the outer layers of friends and family and work and play and all the ways to spend your time and money and energy and days.

One does not build a life from the outside-in, this model states.
You craft it from the meek, soft center.  
And blossom from the inside-out.

the Sanskrit word Bija is one I like to carry with me - and toss about at will.
It literally translates to "seed".  
And while the natural world around me is attending to the busy work of setting down roots, condensing itself into the soil and working its way up to their full expression in the form of flowers and magnificent leaves...
I nestle a moment deeper into my own layers.. my own soil... to peer into the seeds anchored there - to call to what's wanting to bloom forth.

Inherent in this nugget of the Seed is the knowledge that all the Life that shall spring forth - whatever marvelous tree or fruiting plant or burst of foliage that is yet to be - is encased inside the humble package of this insignificant shell.   Though it may be sleeping, the tiny seed Dreams of what will be.

Practice and all is coming, saith the guru.
Tend to me and all will Grow, denotes the SEed.

All around me I can see traces of orchids and lilies and gorgeous trellises of humanity covering the landscape.  And there is always this covetousness.. this longing... to ripple and sparkle and dazzle the way they do.  
But my tiny craft of ritual invites me back to the heartbeat... the pulse... to my own dark, humble seed - which contains in it all the information needed - to Bloom as only I can do.

.....
Tiny circles.  
Beginning with me.
This breath.
This day.

A new season that is Beckoning to speak...

and she Whispers...
to start just where we are.
Build your masterpiece from the infinitesimal bounty clutched between your two small hands.

It will be enough.
It will be Glorious & Lovely in its own unique way.
You will be granted the tools & friends & lovers & allies & practices & rituals you need as you dance once more into the center.  
from which all things Sprout forth....

Don't worry about the outer expression, says she.
Or how your own pallor stacks up in the garden of things.
Do not attempt to sort out the value of X
nor chart a clear, direct and easy path to your Journey's end.

Sit inside the circle.
Listen to it breathe.
and when she calls you - step out into the Edges of the thing - and Dance.

May you rest easy in the wisdom of your own great riches.
May you be granted the golden ratio of sunshine & rain to let your personal magnificence sprout.
May you trust the seed buried deep inside you.
Bloom on, sweet family.

Yours,
  xo.
    ~a

---

​:::Photo Credit - Danielle Dusseau:::

*More Circling Love abounds in the coming season...

*If you are in the Arcata area, please consider joining us for this next Full Moon Movement/Journey/Meditation/Celebration at Tosha Yoga on Saturday, April 23rd, from 7-9 pm.  Working with themes of the Divine Masculine & Feminine.... exploring both led & free-form movement & being profoundly held inside a container of gorgeous music & evocative scents & intuitive play.  Yes.  

*For our online tribe, Danielle Dusseau and I are lovingly knitting together a course which delves deeply into the rhythms & rituals of the Divine Feminine - weekly offerings delivered to your inbox - in the form of movement sequences, journaling & inner journeying prompts, herbal allies & altar building, plus sweet creative rituals to invoke and awaken the Sacred Feminine inside your own heart & Life.  More Details TBA.  

If you feel called to these, or would like to know more about upcoming offerings, please drop me a line.  
I love to hear your thoughts, your journeys and the sweet and potent snapshots from your world.  

Thanks for reading.  
Thanks for walking down the road a bit with me.

You help to make this Walk .  So.  Sweet.  <3