Dear Reader,
It’s full-on summer, and the hours spent among the garden beds, at home, or in the forest require a careful balance of sowing, tending, and harvesting. All three tasks hold equal importance and are interdependent. One can’t exist without others. On good days, the pace can take on a waltz's one two three, one two three rhythm. But when resilience is low, temps soar, and predator bugs outnumber the beneficial ones, the glide of the waltz can turn into a stumble. Skip a step or a day, and it takes some scurrying to catch up with my partner, Mother Nature.
This week, my list included tending the potato beds (code for squishing potato bugs), succession seeding late summer lettuces, broccoli, basil, and chard, clearing the encroaching guest plants now crowding the onions, and starting new batches of comfrey fertilizer tea. When the stifling heat set in fast and furious, it caused me to juggle priorities, and what had been a full list grew even longer. The dance that had felt so enjoyable felt like a burden, so I woke at dawn the next morning. Before taking on any tasks, I headed to the lake. The spring-fed, crystal clear waters of Silver Lake were a welcome reset, helping me remember again that even the most joyous dancing requires a rest.
A cooling front arrived on Thursday, inviting an evening garden wander. I nibbled strawberries, plucked black currants, and peeked into the forming baby cabbage heads. What days before had pushed me toward overwhelm again felt like home. As I lingered in the twilight, I asked this wild menagerie we call a garden to show me what most needed my attention. A new list was drawn up, suddenly manageable.
The need to sow, tend, harvest, and rest extends well beyond the garden borders. It is exactly what is required to grow and evolve as humans, and how to sustainably grow dreams into tangible projects in service of the greater good. Yet, like in the garden, balancing the actions with a nourishing pause is critical.
I have been using this as a lens to view my professional work since we entered Cancer season (20 June to 19 July). Wednesday’s New Moon provided a pivotal point for me to commit to words my deepest desires and all that I wanted to sow, tend, and harvest in service of others. This is a fertile time, and I suggest you make a point to create some reflective planning time this weekend while the energy of this lunar cycle builds.
Thanks to some amazingly supportive personal astrology (XXOO Jupiter and Saturn), I now have a clearer sense of what I aspire to be metaphorically sowing, weeding, and harvesting in the coming months. Here’s a glance at my list in progress.
Sowing: A new platform for learning Gemmos - The Gemmo School. A new series of workbooks to accompany The Complete Guide, an old-school New England Indie Book Promo Tour (let me know your favorites), and local, in-person Gemmo Study Groups connecting new friends, forming circles of support.
Tending: Continually releasing what no longer aligns with my truth and doesn’t support my real, tangible growth and the growth of others. Anything that doesn’t support my autonomy or the autonomy of those I serve.
Harvesting: Joy and fulfillment in having last year’s BIG DREAM of a book out in the world so that I may go on to other BIG DREAMS. Satisfaction in being on the path I am, and having been gifted with many incredible teachers. Daily lessons from the plants themselves.
Wow, that was fun to share. What are you sowing, tending, and harvesting this season? I'd love to hear, and putting it out there supports its manifestation.
Before you go, don’t forget to tune in to my latest chat with HD guide Christine Terrell and Developmental Coach Lois McNaughton. We look at Gates 39 and 53 (1 July-12 July). Undoubtedly, some powerful energy is available as you work out your dream list.
Keep Dancing!
Lauren
