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"She seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if she had surprised a butterfly in the Winter woods"
(edith wharton)


Tuesday 20 November 2007

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.






23 comments:

gma said...

What a beautiful post. I finally got Starhawks earth book and started reading today about the permaculture....Syncronicity???There are many wonderful excercises to do....I love the writing you did.

Gill said...

You paint with words Robyn, paint beautiful sites for us to see

Take care

A bird in the hand said...

My childhood garden memories are of picking the fruit off the mulberry tree and stuffing my mouth with them; keeping silkworms that I fed on mulberry leaves; the fig tree and the pomegranate tree so heavy with fruit, the ground would be covered with them; Rex, the Alsatian I grew up with, sitting in the backyard watching my grandmother's chickens foraging, and buche de Noel (yule log) at Christmas. My childhood was lonely and sad, but my surroundings were in a natural environment that your post brought back to me. xoxoxo

Bimbimbie said...

Gorgeous post Robyn, as I read images and memories of my own popped into my head. That garden sounded like a wonderful place to hold such a workshop. You could always add a touch of rum to the yule log to help with the relies *!*

Bimbimbie said...

Gorgeous post Robyn, as I read images and memories of my own popped into my head. That garden sounded like a wonderful place to hold such a workshop. You could always add a touch of rum to the yule log to help with the relies *!*

Suzie Ridler said...

Enjoy your quiet meditation time Robyn. I'm going to get me some of that tomorrow! I can't wait.

Did you see Autumn's post on her chocolate Yule log? I am definitely going to make that, it looks perfect.

Anonymous said...

You write like a butterfly and turn words into honey like a bee!

Bouquets to you, Robyn, for your magical imagery of gardens past and present.

"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough." Rabindranath Tagore

As for the upcoming topic you mentioned, animals definitely have souls. I visualized the soul of a beloved animal companion once and it glowed with the colors of a rainbow.

Your last line is a beautiful and necessary reminder to just be. We try so hard in our lives to be 'something' or 'something' to somebody, or 'something' to everybody. When all we really need to do is allow ourselves to just be.

Those that truly care love us for just being, quirks and all!

Tracy said...

A beautiful post, Robyn! I enjoyed reading your thoughts. :)

Annie Jeffries said...

Lovely post Robyn. Your croning ceremony has brought you to a very centered place.

Anonymous said...

Just found your lovely blog. I love this post. It is cold and rainy here and dark and it gives me hope thinking of the light returning with dragonflies and butterflies and flowers!

Gill said...

Yes animals have souls! They are connected to us!!!
xoxo
Love your list of things...foxglove, parsley. You make me long for spring again, and winter has only just started.
xoo
Gillian

mrsnesbitt said...

Robyn, I too will be getting through champagne on Christmas Day, for the ame reason.....I am cooking for 8 of us in all and want it all to go as smoothly as possible......so I have started planning. Fortunately I made detailed menu plans last year which I put on my blog....so I will do the same....
but champagne.................definately!

couragetocreatewriteandlove said...

Beautiful Robin!
I love it I love it I love it!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh Robyn! How lovely! I have fond memories of a very special almond tree. It tolerated climbing, acrobatics, hot angry tears of injustice, giggles and shouts:it was special. As was my Nan's beetroot too, sliced very thinly- lovely with tasty cheese in thick and soft crusty sandwiches.

J C said...

Oh my gosh what a wonderful post, Robyn. I am so happy for you that you got to spend the time there and reflect upon those memories, and talk with the butterflies. I LOVED this post and read every word (I admit sometimes I speed read but not this time) I'm envious and wish there were a place here like that. Maybe tomorrow I'll go to the park. Thank you for making me feel good because my imagination had me right there with you.

kathyann said...

As always a beautiful post Robyn,I can almost taste the yule log and I love trifle especially at Christmas,we will raise a glass to all our bloging friends at Christmas ,it might not be champagne but something just as nice ! Take care Kathyann

kathyann said...

As always a beautiful post Robyn,I can almost taste the yule log and I love trifle especially at Christmas,we will raise a glass to all our bloging friends at Christmas ,it might not be champagne but something just as nice ! Take care Kathyann

Brandi Reynolds said...

oh I absolutely believe animal's souls. I just have to look in my dog's eyes to see that.

what a wonderful experience that sounded like!!!!!

Julie said...

Hello, Robyn,

I just wanted to stop by and wish you a Happy American Thanksgiving, because I am so grateful and thankful to have you as a friend.

Love,

Julie

Leanne said...

i was sure i had posted a comment here the other day- strange its not here- gremlins again!

you write beautifully Robyn. your posts are a joy to read.

Leanne x

Moonroot said...

What a fabulous workshop, and what beautiful writing has come out of it! I'm envious.

Anonymous said...

Lovely post, Robyn. I love the idea of connecting the garden to our souls. Sounds like a wonderful experience.
Enjoy the sunshine in the garden of your soul, Robyn.~XOXO

Lila Rostenberg said...

What a lovely workshop to attend!
I applaud your decision to make a different cake for Christmas this year! Sometimes change is good.