Awakening to Life

In collaboration with the Rooted Healing podcast, this post has been read aloud by me and woven with sounds for a soothing sonic experience. Listen in on Spotify HERE or find your streaming platform on the Rooted Healing website.

We gather here again, at the threshold of a new beginning, as we unfurl from our winter den carrying our bundle of seeds from last year’s harvest, that are now ready to sow beneath the warming sun. Life is pregnant with possibility at this time of Spring Equinox, Ostara. The daffodils are trumpeting, blackthorn bushes twinkling, catkins swinging and birds serenading the dawn once again. Has it ever felt so sweet to greet the return of the creative life force that has been feeding our roots and insides, tempering our longing for the light, for warmth, sunshine and growth? I find myself constantly whispering 'thank you' when I witness another Spring delight - the fluffy clouds of cherry blossom, magnolia buds opening their petals and the first ramson leaves appearing on the forest floor; beckoning me to come in closer and enjoy a nibble.

Spring is the season of renewal, fertility and hope, when the earth awakens from her dreaming to create anew. As the sun shines warmer and brighter, the protective shell that surrounds the seed starts to crack - no longer able to contain the impulse to be born and grow. Much like the seeds, we humans too need to rupture and break free from our sanctuary of hibernation - the womb-tomb of Winter - and prepare to fledge the nest, unsure of where our new wings might take us. Can you feel this inner stirring? The longing to become more; expanding and exploring new landscapes, ideas and possibilities?

There is something familiar about this process of initiation and rebirth, although taking the leap of faith into the unknown can bring understandable trepidation. Our animal body remembers the rhythms and cycles of creation. So too does the moon, the trees and the hearth.

Nature so elegantly shows us how to let go and surrender to the process of decay and death; how to grow strong roots that withstand the winds of change; and how to regenerate when the conditions are just right to bring forth new life. If we open our senses and we give our attention to the ever-changing reflection Nature offers us, there is always a reminder and gentle invitation to trust the wild intelligence that imbues every cell in our body, and to participate in this ancient rhythm of life unfolding and becoming through us.

Imagine what it takes for a young bird to make its first flight from the comfort of their nest. They must trust the strength they have been slowly building, and the wisdom written into their bones from their lineage of sky-fliers, as their instinct edges them forward. With a leap that may be clumsy and uncertain, the fledging leaves the nest and meets the vast expanse of air as their fall becomes a lift. In that courageous crossing from safety into the unknown, the young bird trusts the strength that has been growing inside it all along. It makes me think of these words by the mystic, Rumi:

"Birds make great sky-circles of their freedom. How do they learn it? They fall, and falling, they're given wings"

Elsewhere in the natural world, others are also showing their bravery as they emerge from the cocoon of Winter. In the hedgerows, hibernating creatures such as hedgehogs stir from their long sleep, cautiously emerging to test the air and search for food. In ponds and ditches, frogs return to the water where they were born to breed, filling the water with frogspawn that will likely make their way into many a curious child’s bucket, as they watch these jelly-like eyes transform into tadpoles. Trees that have spent months in quiet dormancy begin to feel the pull of light again, drawing sap up their trunks through their branches and their tight buds begin to soften and swell.

As well as these gestures of boldness and bravery, there is a tenderness to these first movements of Spring that I have been noticing in my body as a curiosity and yearning for gentleness. I’ve been watching the ways life does not burst forth all at once in the natural world; it stretches, listens, softens and emerges. This is where the balancing energy of Spring Equinox can be so supportive: we are reminded of the need for containment before expansion - for there to be harmony between the inner and outer worlds, so we can come into coherence with the forces of nature, that are our true nature.

With each breath we are breathed alive by a mysterious and vital current that is constantly inviting this movement of expansion and contraction. This movement that guides the cosmos and all of Creation. We cannot see this invisible current, but when we acknowledge it, we feel it, and something of us must trust in this force that animates us because our body breathes so effortlessly. Until we attempt to control it that is!

Air is the element that presides over the Spring Equinox, the East of the medicine wheel, for at this gateway of the Wheel of the Year we begin a new creative cycle. The sun rises in the east and stirs life into being but it is air, in the form of breath and vibration that creates form from the void. It is the breath that awakens us to life.

The invisible landscape of our mind is also connected with the air element for it is within our thoughts, imagination, intuition and intention that we sow the seeds of creation. As the Buddha discovered, our thoughts create our reality.

After a recent meditation retreat I’ve been wondering how can we be more intentional with steering the mind towards greater compassion, peacefulness and wakefulness. When I feel a deep sense of trust in the way life is unfolding, I notice my mind is much calmer and able to be in a state of flow, rather that striving to plan, control, worry or procrastinate. What are you setting in motion with your thoughts at this threshold of Spring? Will they steer you towards more or less freedom?

When I think of that young bird standing at the edge of the nest, I wonder about the impulse that compels them to spread their wings and take flight. Yes, they have been watching their mama fluttering and swooping by, and many other of their winged kin dancing nearby, but they still show a remarkable trust that they too can fly.

As we meet the Spring Equinox we can find great strength, courage and inspiration from rooting into what we trust as we prepare to expand beyond our former limits. When our thoughts veer towards overwhelm, fear or the attempt to control, what can we lean into and feel a soft surrendering into the flow of life? What is it that encourages us to lean into the unknown and take the small but significant leaps that change the course of our lives?

Perhaps it is our trust in Nature herself. The steady rhythm of the seasons shows us again and again that life knows how to renew itself and does so without striving or resistance, but with perfect and elegant timing. When we witness these natural cycles of renewal, something within us remembers that we too belong to this same living intelligence and are a part of this divine dance of creation.

For some, this trust may rest in something more ineffable - a sacred mystery that moves through all things. The creative force that shapes the spiralling galaxies, guides the flow of water and can be heard through the sweet melodies of birdsong. Different traditions give this force many names: Spirit, Source, God, Awen, the Great Mystery, Creation or Life itself. Whatever language we use, there is a sense that life is not unfolding randomly but through a deeper pattern of becoming. Spring reminds us that we are participants in that unfolding, not separate from it.

And then there is the trust we place in the wisdom within ourselves, with our Soul essence. Beneath the noise of doubt and the conditioning of the mind, there exists a deeper knowing that recognises who you truly are. This inner-tuition knows when it is time to remain still and when it is time to move forward - when it is time to emerge from our wintering places, to stretch toward the light and risk a new beginning. We may not see the full shape of what we are becoming, but still, something in us leans forward.

This curiosity, the movement of life itself, and the spark of possibility is what nudges the young bird to the edge of the nest. At the Spring Equinox we are invited to stand, like that young bird, at the threshold between what has been and what is waiting to unfold, without any certainty what the future might reveal. And to trust that the same current of life that carries the seasons forward is also carrying us into the next expression of who we are becoming.

The energy of the Spring Equinox supports this awakening, as the traditionally observed first day of Spring, when the planting season begins.

As the balance of light and dark gently tips toward the growing light, the Spring Equinox invites us to refresh both our inner and outer worlds. Day and night stand in perfect balance, offering us a moment of equilibrium between the inner and outer worlds. From this place of balance we are better able to sense the dreams and visions that wish to emerge through us in the months ahead. The air element encourages us to listen closely to the currents of inspiration moving through the mind and imagination. To notice the ideas that keep returning and the longings that whisper quietly at the edge of awareness.

Around this time of year I like to venture for a medicine walk or hold a day of silence - turning off devices, stepping away from distractions, and creating a simple circle of intention either outdoors or in a space in my home. Within that space, I lie or sit in stillness, tune in to my body, and ask for guidance, clarity, or inspiration for the season ahead. I simply listen and meet what unfolds, paying attention to any subtle messages that may surface from within. Afterwards, writing in a journal can help capture the insights that appeared or a poem may come with a more mystical message from my soul. The same applies for a medicine walk, but I am in motion and listening to the messages I receive from the natural world.

When light and dark are equal it is an opportunity for us to consider balance in our lives and what we might need to address to ensure that we are tending equally to all aspects of our life - physical, emotional, mental, spiritual. If your mind is feeling crowded with worries, overthinking, or constant busyness, leaving little room for clarity, creativity, or quiet reflection, do you need to connect more with your emotional landscape and create space to feel and express yourself? If you are struggling with your immunity do you need to bring more awareness to your body’s needs - to slow down, rest, eat nourishing food and cleansing herbs?

Spring offers a supportive time to nurture new beginnings within yourself and usher some fresh energy into your home and body. There is an invitation to explore expression and expansion which could take the form of a new hairstyle, a change of style, or the beginning of a class, hobby, or daily practice that feels enlivening. You may feel called to adjust your diet, perhaps through lighter, nourishing foods, or by incorporating wild seasonal greens that support a sense of cleansing and vitality. Or you feel inspired to open cupboards and drawers, clearing away what is no longer needed, dusting out forgotten corners, and rearranging your surroundings to reflect a sense of renewal.

As you do, you can also tend to the unseen energy of your space, using sacred herbs to cleanse your home. Moving between rooms, with the windows open, you can waft the smoke into the corners as you imagine clearing out any stagnant or wintry energy to welcome spring into your home. With your intention you can use sound to activate you space and sprinkle water with fingers or feather around each room as you bless your home so it feels light, welcoming, and alive.

Bringing spring indoors with simple touches like fresh flowers, sprouting seeds, fresh bedsheets or diffusing an uplifting blend of citrus scents, can further anchor this sense of vitality and rebirth. I love combining lemon, orange and grapefruit into a mist spray that I spritz about me before meditation, in the air above my desk when I begin work, or generously about the home on cleaning days, to shift the atmosphere and signal to the body that a new cycle has begun.

Sowing seeds can become a meaningful ritual each spring tide, symbolising what you wish to cultivate in the months ahead. Whether in a garden bed, a window box, or a small pot on the kitchen sill, placing seeds into the earth can become a gesture of prayer. Hold the seed to your heart and visualise what you hope to give life to before breathing your hopes or dreams into it and place it in the soil. Creating a seasonal altar with some of these seeds, and adorning the space with colours, textures, and symbols of spring growth and fertility can serve as a daily reminder of this unfolding energy.

Beyond the home, the season invites you to emerge from your dreaming den and reconnect with the living world, in awe and wonder at all that is bestowed upon our senses. Go outside at dawn and dusk and listen to birdsong as it returns in full chorus. Walk slowly and with intention, as you notice the subtle signs of rebirth all around you - the buds forming on branches, blossoms unfurling, and the vibrant greens pushing through the earth. These small moments of attention can gently root you in the rhythm of the season and awaken your heart to beauty and new possibilities.

May you meet this threshold of Spring with a soft and trusting heart, honouring both the stillness you have known and the life that now begins to stir within you.

May the seeds you carry find fertile ground to take root and grow in their own perfect timing. May you have the courage of the fledgling bird, to lean into the unknown, trusting that the same breath that moves the seasons also moves through you.

May you walk gently with this season of becoming, listening closely to the quiet wisdom within and around you, and remembering that you are not separate from this great unfolding, but an essential part of its beauty.

And may this turning of the wheel bring you renewal, balance, and a deep sense of belonging in the ever-unfolding dance of life.