We’re having a full moon on the day of the Fall Equinox (that would be last night, 9/22 in the U.S.).  The full moon closest to the Fall Equinox is called the Harvest Moon.  I wouldn’t know this if daughter hadn’t posted something about it on Facebook.  The things I learn there!

Sitting here waiting for inspiration to strike (it’s Thursday:  time to write my 2nd blog of the week…that’s my own rule, which I can break if I wish, but I don’t wish), I got to thinking how life works…you know, the big questions that always set folks off on treks to find Really True.

Stay with me ….I’m going to pull this together here.

Last year I decided to start teaching others how to make torsos.  It seemed a natural outgrowth of the fact that I can now make them in my sleep, that I can teach folks who’ve never touched clay and they have amazing, uplifting, spectacular results, and that people will buy a “how-to” before they will buy one of my own.  Last year I had two classes.  No more.  This year, the idea seems to have permeated the All, and I’m sitting on a list of 12 folks (plus a list of some who want to repeat). 

I could have quit offering the classes based on the slight response last year, but kept on watering the seeds…and now I’m harvesting.

The thing with harvesting is that if you keep digging up the seeds to see if they’re growing, you’re going to kill them before you get to sprouting, nevermind reaping.  You have to trust that the seed is doing its thing and if you want to help it do its thing, then your thing is to supply what it needs as best you can:  soil, sun or a sunlight lamp,  some nice organic fertilizer from your compost pile, water if it gets too dry.  And wait.  Or, instead of waiting, trot off to some other stream of income and keep yourself occupied there while you trust your seed to sprout. 

Let’s pull that apart a little.

Plant the Seed

In this instance, the seed is an idea.  Like plants, some ideas grow faster than others because all the right circumstances (including a strong and vigerous seed) come together and off it all goes.  More often than not, however, what we see when we’re casting around for a seed is someone else’s grown and fully flowering plant.  And we want it.  Now. 

There are always those whose seed is simply to tell you that you can have whatever you want right now if you just (fill in the blank with whatever services they are selling at this moment).  It is human to want it right now.  I, myself, have spent a good many dollars buying into the just right philosophy, knowledge, information.  And I’ve learned some things that have been helpful.  The most helpful thing I’ve learned is:  get clear about what you’re buying and what it’s based on.   Unless you are growing the exact same seed, you will find that you’re back doing what I suggested above:  plant your seed to its best advantage, take care of it as best you can, be patient.  I’m not sure that I can actually share this knowledge with you.  It may be something each of us must learn on our own.

Trust your own ideas.  If you need help getting clear on those ideas, find someone who can make a space for you to get really really really clear on what it is you want.  And how you expect it to look when you get it.  And what you expect in return for your hard work.  Clarity is the soil you plant in.

Composted organic fertilizer

If you use your own organic compost, you know what you’re getting because you made it.  Let’s face it, you have to wait for crap to mature into useable compost.

All the detritus of our lives is organic compost for the creation of our garden. 

So the next time you’re in the middle of a bunch of shit, celebrate the fact that an idea is being fertilized. 

 This type of celebration may take some practice because we are not taught to think of difficulties and challenges as fertilizer.  Make it a game – at the end of the day look through the challenges you have encountered and see what it is they are trying to tell you.  Once you get good at this, you can track the odd bits of rotting matter as they morph into nurturing sustenance. 

Light

When my son was in 4th grade, his science project took him all the way to honorable mention in a very large school system.

His project:  he tracked what difference light or no light, water, no water or too much water, and soil made for his flower seeds.

The seed he planted and left in his closet actually grew, but we didn’t see it until the end of the experiment when we emptied the container.  Because it grew upside down.  It was confused but grew anyways.

Be careful where you plant.  If you surround yourself with people and ideas and circumstances that are negative, if you define yourself through victimhood , if you believe that things happen to you instead of acknowledging that your choices have created your circumstances, you will be confused.  You will grow but find yourself stunted or upside down.

Instead look for the light:  people who are happy and engaged in projects of their own choosing, who  see challenges as fertlizer, and who are not afraid to keep trying with their seeds until they find the right combination to help them grow.

Water

Different seeds take different amounts of water. 

Giant Sequoia seeds only open in the heat of a forest fire, and are fertlized by the ashes.  Cacti thrive in sand and hot sun, with cool nights.  Impatiens are canaries in the garden, the first to wilt if not watered daily even in the shade.

If you don’t know the seed, you may not get it right the first time.  You may not get it right with someone helping who has planted different seeds or who is not sharing or is unaware of all the steps that they used to successfully grown their own plants.  You may have to try, try again.  But I’m here to bet if you look around, you’ll find others working with the same seed and together you can figure out the amount of water needed for this particular seed faster and more accurately.

Water is the basis of life for organic matter on this planet.  Sometimes it takes a while to discover the spring that holds the clear water that provides what we need.  This is the quest part of the adventure, and you are the hero who finds water and brings it back to the larger whole through your wonderfully flowering garden.

Wylde Women’s Wisdom

Our bodies are garbage heaps:  we collect experience.  Natalie Goldberg

Our deepest wishes are whispers of our authentic selves.  Sarah Ban Breathnach

So much of wha we buy and do is booby prizes because we’re not living lives we want, we even forget how lively life can be so we’ve got to keep getting more stuff to fill the unfillable hole.  A service we can do for each other is to watch for signs of life and say, “You look like you love doing that.  Maybe you should do that some more.  Maybe I can help you.  Ann Herbert