Permission to not read this

Finding grounding and belonging on Election Day Eve

I hesitate to contribute more words, sound bites, information and thoughts into the internet space at this current moment we find ourselves in. On Election Day Eve here in the United States there is a palpable buzz in the air and on my phone where I am receiving almost constant text messages from various organizations reminding me to vote, donate, etc.

So I start today’s newsletter with PERMISSION TO NOT READ THIS. Permission to turn off your phone or computer and to go outside or to a place that feels grounding and spacious to you. Permission to take in LESS information, news and election updates. Permission to go sit under a tree, to drink a cool glass of water, to hug a loved one, to move your body in a way that feels good to you. Permission to listen to music, dance, sing, cry, and rage.

Not as a way to disengage with what is happening in the world- quite the opposite actually. Instead, as a way to find some ground beneath you, to find an anchor, a resource and connection so that you CAN show up skillfully to all that this moment asks of us individually and collectively.

So today (if you’re still reading along with me) I will keep things short and sweet. I will share the wisdom that has been flowing into me as I have sat by the Big Oak Tree lately.

For a couple years I have been hiking and running on a local trail several times a week. Just recently I explored a new path and discovered the Big Oak Tree. I have been coming to the Tree this fall and sitting-leaning back against their MASSIVE trunk and just listening. Often times I cry, write in my journal, listen to the bird song and experience the DEEP aliveness and belonging of this place.

The Big Oak Tree in September

As I sat earlier this week these are the messages that came through as I communed with the Big Oak Tree and asked what they might want me to know about endings, transitions and letting go.

As we find ourselves in the season of Fall (in the Northern Hemisphere), the natural world is shedding leaves, plants are dying and days are getting shorter and darker.

Here is what the Big Oak helped me understand about this season:

1. Trust- To trust the experience and season. To open myself to what is present. Trust the “generosity of letting go.”

2. Endings are beginnings- With each season and cycle there is a death and rebirth. Endings create a space for something new to emerge.

3. It’s ok to let go. Nothing is wasted- I watched the oak leaves fall gently to the forest floor. Carpeting the ground in a thick mulch that would eventually give way to new soil and new life.

4. Allow Mother Earth to hold you- As I marveled at how incredibly, magnificently large this Tree is-a trunk so wide I could wrap myself around it several times, branches reaching with amazing width and height, I noticed how deeply rooted the Tree is. How the Tree is able to rise up in such a way because they allow the Earth to hold and anchor them so deeply. Soften into support.

5. Love the Ending and the Ending will love you back. This one really pierced my heart deeply. So often I fear, ignore or push away an ending. What the Oak Tree seemed to understand was the opportunity for relationship and connection that can emerge when I lean in and tend to an ending. What might become possible and emerge from that space?

Thank you Big Oak Tree. I am filled with love, reverence and wonder as I return to you again and again. Someone created a small spot at the base of the trunk to place offerings. Each time I return there are new flowers, sticks, rocks and plants. I laid my herb bundle down in gratitude the last time I was there and in return I could feel the Oak’s deep gratitude for me.

What endings are present for you currently?

What are the places you go to that allow you to access a greater sense of belonging and connection?

What gratitude or openheartedness towards life is present for you at the moment?

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Through this experience with the Oak and time I spent in my garden this fall; an offering was dreamt through me. A longing to create a space to gather together and honor transition, change and endings individually and in community.

On Sunday November 17th from 1:00-3:00 PM on Zoom, I will offer a virtual workshop called Tending to Endings. I invite you to find out more info HERE and register. This will be a small group setting (12 people max) and will include ritual, embodiment practices, writing prompts, poetry and optional sharing. I would love to have you join me.

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Sending you so much love, connection and belonging.

-Shandra