Manifest: Blossom

Musing….

We must live in this world and be gardens
for the dreams that want to take root in it.

~ Robert Moss, Dreaming True ~

You’ve heard of the expression “Bloom where you are planted” – well, the time is now! Each blossom is unique to the dreamseeds planted and nurtured in your being – the world needs your color, fragrance and beauty as you blossom in endless expansion.

Kate’s Turn: 

As I begin to enjoy the color finally appearing in my backyard gardens, I notice how each plant has its own needs and timing to manifest its essence. Some require more sun than is available; some have already finished their blossom stage and others have not even produced their buds yet. This so accurately reflects my own dreamseed blossoming.

Paying attention to small successes is like tending the early growth of my dreamseeds. It’s way too easy to focus on what isn’t working, what I need to be doing better ( I’m referencing my Toastmasters speaking); these seem like the weeds that restrict the process. But paying attention to those teeny steps I take consistently makes me smile, and acts like sunshine, along with cultivating and watering, in nourishment of this growth process towards the inevitable blossom. My impatience to do this well NOW is like expecting a plant to blossom on demand – it needs more sun (warmth) and time (honoring) and nutrients (effort). And trust – knowing the blossom will manifest in its perfect timing. Honoring the entire cycle and not only the blossom places faith in our garden essence.

Get Fired Up:  

What positive changes do you notice that make you smile with sunshine on your dreamseeds? How can you trust and honor your garden essence to bloom and manifest?

Manifest: Message

Musing…

“Within light there is darkness, but do not try to understand that darkness; 
Within darkness there is light, but do not look for that light.
Light and darkness are a pair, like the foot before and the foot behind, in walking.” 

– from Sandokai, 8^th century poem by Shitou Xiqian

How many stories and fairy tales divide light and dark and do away with the dark character?  What if we tell a different story, what then?

Charise’s Turn:

In Karen McLane’s original fairy tale “The Crowning of the Woodland Queen”, performed on May 26 at Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center, I had the opportunity to play the Shadow Queen. The Shadow Queen uses her power to attempt to steal the crown that rightfully belongs to the Woodland Queen – a typical formula for such a tale. When her power fails, however, the Woodland Queen does not punish or banish her, she responds to her vulnerability. She dances with her, light and dark reflecting each other’s movements. A transformation.

“Ms. McLane's work may well be the progenitor of a new wave of storytelling. As it is, this work deserves widespread attention… as more and more people use the message of The Crowning to understand and heal their own lives.”  - Alianna J. Maren, PhD, author of Unveiling: The Inner Journey.

When I stepped into the lobby after the show to find friends, several people stopped me to thank me for my dancing. I’ve performed for many years, and to be congratulated is common, but to be thanked is unusual. Those who expressed thanks were visibly moved, at a loss for words. The message of the story hit home. And the import of dance theatre reached a zenith in the humble setting of a local community college.

Get Fired Up:

Hone your message, your intent, that sustains your endeavors and your aspirations. What is it that you want to say – what is the thread that runs through what you create? Your message is your foundation for what you manifest.