Growing Green
Our Foundation
We think of ourselves as ‘in’ landscape, but sometimes we forget that landscape is also in us. We are formed by the ground we walk on: that which lies beneath our feet, that which holds us, supports us, feeds us. Ground is where we stand, the foundation for our lives. Whether it is hard and cold or warm and soft, ground is the foundation of our being in this world.
Ground is the safe place at the heart of us; we ‘go to ground’ when we are trying to hide or escape from something which is hunting us. We ‘hold our ground’ when we stand firm against something which challenges or threatens us. We ‘have an ear to the ground’ when we are properly paying attention to what is going on around us. To ‘keep our feet on the ground’ is to be realistic, not to get too big for our boots. Without ground, we are nothing.
Be Like a Tree
Be like a tree.
Stay grounded. Connect with your roots.
Turn over a new leaf. Bend before you break.
Enjoy your unique beauty. Keep growing.
~ Joanne Raptis
🌲 ❤️
Virgo Full Moon
Life may seem a bit wild and surreal right now. But the full Moon is with Virgo, the earth priestess. Virgo reminds us that honoring earth through ritual can bring us back down to ground.
Connect with this beautiful planet through a simple prayer, song, chant, offering, meditation or movement now. Find anchor in the storm.
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Photo by Ruthie Martin on Unsplash
A Blessing for the New Year
Let us bless the imagination of the Earth.
That knew early the patience to harness the mind of time,
Waited for the seas to warm, ready to welcome the emergence
Of things dreaming of voyaging among the stillness of land…
Let us thank the Earth that offers ground for home
And holds our feet firm to walk in space open to infinite galaxies.
Let us salute the silence and certainty of mountains:
Their sublime stillness, their dream-filled hearts.
The wonder of a garden trusting the first warmth of spring…
The humility of the Earth that transfigures all that has fallen of outlived growth.
The kindness of the Earth, opening to receive
our worn forms into the final stillness.
Let us ask forgiveness of the Earth
For all our sins against her:
for our violence and poisonings of her beauty.
Let us remember within us the ancient clay, holding the memory of seasons,
The passion of the wind, the fluency of water, the warmth of fire,
The quiver-touch of the sun and shadowed sureness of the moon.
That we may awaken to live to the full the dream of the Earth
Who chose us to emerge and incarnate its hidden night in mind, spirit and light.
~John O’Donohue
♡
Sacred Earth
‘It was such a pleasure to sink one’s hands into the warm earth, to feel at one’s fingertips the possibilities of the new season.’
~Kate Morton
🌲
#EarthLove
#GetOutThere
#Sacred
Think Like a Tree
Think Like a Tree
Soak up the sun
Affirm life’s magic
Be graceful in the wind
Stand tall after a storm
Feel refreshed after it rains
Grow strong without notice
Be prepared for each season
Provide shelter to strangers
Hang tough through a cold spell
Emerge renewed at the first signs of spring
Stay deeply rooted while reaching for the sky
Be still long enough to
hear your own leaves rustling.
~Karen I. Shragg
Nature’s Simple Joys
Goddess of Stone
I am EARTH.
I hold the now and anchor this present moment. Wind may ruffle me. Still I hold. I have seen so many now’s. Still I hold. I am fundamental ground.
I was born from light. Before this here and now, I was asteroid and meteor, the stuff of stars. I came from light. Now I am the loamy dark place where new life takes root. I am the substrate, the fundamental ground where it all begins.
I hold physical here and now. I am both anchor and dock. I may assume many forms – sand, rock, clay, dirt. Yet in every form I am here to hold life. The physical begins with me.
Touch is my lover. I revel in the sacred caress of plant and animal bodies to my earth. I love to give the seeds a place to root and the waters a place to flow. I offer the wind a destination. Sun and Moon love to dance with me.
I am still, quiet, calm ground. I am EARTH. I am Stone Goddess.
