The Mysterious Petals

I noticed some mysterious flower petals, pale-yellow ones scattered like tiny stars on the stone path next to my little herb patch in the early morning. Looking up at the Cypress tree above the path, I was confused was to where they’d come from. I inspected the herbs to see who their possible owner could be, but found no clues. Perhaps they were a gift from the faeries?

palm flowers2

Later on, after lunch I sat in the garden for stillness with a cup of tea and some poetry. I heard the sound of buzzing bees and looked up. What I didn’t see earlier was the tall palm tree towering over the cypress, so still and silent that I’d forgotten it was there. It wore a brilliant bunch of pale-yellow flowers just below its leaves. Mystery solved. Bees waltzed around them, dizzy from sweet scents and nectar.

All autumn, those tiny flowers will drop their petals and grow into stone-like palm fruit. All winter, I will hear the palm fruit fall from their heights, in the dead of the icy night, blending the story of their journey back down to the Earth with the music of the wintry darkness.

And so signs of the shifting seasons are beginning to set in.

palm flowers

Mermaids, stars and the Wild Unknown

Last night, I felt like I was drifting amongst the stars.

I laid on my back, floating in the cool water, while looking up at the stars sparkling against the indigo night sky. The moon was a bright sickle on the horizon. Small dark patches of clouds drifted here and there. The only sound I could hear was the rhythm of my breath and at some point it was as if the water and sky became one.

I wondered if this is what mermaids feel like, watching the diamond stars and the crescent moonrise. I imagined them buoyed in the calm and silent sea, the womb waters of the Goddess, when the ocean depths are dark and its intricate sea gardens hidden, looking up to the light that the night skies offer.

Swimming at night is a whole different world. There is always the fear of what may be there in the water, but cannot be seen in the darkness. We learn to fear the unknown. I remember the sensation of unseen fish brushing against my skin a few times when I swam in the ocean. It’s so eerie because you are never sure what it actually is. But as I’ve written in my book, Wild Essence, there is value in venturing beyond the fear and into the wild unknown, because that is where the magic lies – in the unknown wilderness of life and of our souls. That is how we grow. That is how we discover who we are. That is how we set ourselves free.

night swim

A Moment to Breathe

Sometimes when life gets overwhelming, you just need to stop, place you hand on you heart centre and breathe. Breath into your heart-space. Breathe in deeply and come home to yourself. Breathe in the healing of the present moment. Lean into the peace of your wise and wild essence. Breathe in tranquillity, compassion, serenity and goodness. Return to a state of grace.

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Also, here is a short meditation (only a few seconds long) to offer a slow and peaceful moment to recalibrate: Click Here to Access A Short Meditation