christmas cake and Soul Care in the garden

usually at this time of year.. I am frantically making christmas fruit cake, my fruit would have been soaking and I may have one or two cakes aging in my pantry... but bringing my new found wisdom to the fore, I have decided to forgo tradition and instead, this year, I am going to make a chocolate yule log... and although it is not yule time for me.. it will go down well on christmas day.... along with my traditional trifle and a huge summer fruit platter... all washed down with copious amounts of champagne.. (because I need this to get through that day, when my family get together). I am going to bottle beetroot before Christmas to give away as gifts instead of the home-made fruit cake... organic beetroot bought from the local co-op and cooked to my Nan's recipe, using cloves & cinnamon

last weekend, I attended a workshop called 'soul care in the garden' - a whole day spent in a permaculture garden while we reflected on ourselves, and we were shown how we could care for our soul in the garden. The garden was full of fruit trees, a mulberry tree was heavy with fruit and we gathered baskets of them. The bird life was amazing and as i sat and pondered, a dragonfly hovered nearby. Butterflies abounded.. flitting from plant to plant...chickens clucked and scratched happily. Bees gathered pollen and lizards scurried across pathways. The sun shone in a cloudless sky and a gentle breeze wafted across my skin as i sat in a swing chair, just sitting contemplating on who I was and what I loved. Chimes tinkled in the breeze, bringing peace and tranquility to the day and to my soul.
We had time to journal our thoughts and here are my random writings:-
first of all we had to write our childhood memories of gardens: the willow tree at Nana's, how it hid us from all the wild animals that were in our imaginary jungle, comforting me as I sat on a cushion, broken hearted by life's injustices, nurturing me and whispering kind words to my soul. the gorgeous hydrangeas that grew in half gallon drums along my grandmother's pathways, Grandfather's vegetable patch and how he chewed a bit of this and a bit of that as he worked in his garden, knowing exactly how each plant would heal. Rios growing over the old shed in the backyard and the delicious pies that Grandma would make from them, climbing the berry tree and sitting in the branches as I talked to the faeries....

and then WHO AM I? oooh what a difficult task this is for me always.... I am a person who loves silence.... silence from modern noise. I am a person who wants to find perfect peace for my soul. I am a person who believes in faeries. I am a person who whants to discover who I really am and get to know ME.....am I like a garden? a lot buried under the soil, waiting to be watered and given light so that I can bloom again?

and then, WHAT DO I LOVE? - ahh this was an easy one..... I love butterflies, dragonflies and the sounds of chickens clucking in the garden, I love the memory of making daisy chains, I love foxgloves and parsley, hoverflies and bumblebees. I love the jumble of confusion of plants spilling over old gates and teapots. I love sweet honesty and rose-campion together with roses and irises. Confusion in the garden brings peace to my soul. a perfect balance - the yin and yang.

and as I sat and thought about me.. a butterfly flew by and I asked it if butterflies had souls (which brings me to another question - do animals have souls.. but I will leave that to another post)... just a mental thought and I 'heard' this: of course we do... we are alive, we have wisdom, we are here to remind you to go about your day but to have fun while you do... a childlike fun and as you go, you will find peace in your soul, the peace you crave. See how we chase each other, enjoying the moment? our work still gets done but we flitter as we go.... have fun dear Robyn. Be the butterfly that you are, flitter through life on butterfly wings....

and as I sat and pondered some more - I realised that this is what I am to do... take time out and just sit in my garden. I will come to know myself as I sit and close my eyes, take notice and BE STILL.