One morning not so long ago, just before waking, I had a peculiar dream about a plant pushing up through my flesh. It was like a high speed science film about germination, except the soil was my skin. First a tiny mound, slowly cracking open to reveal a bulbous matter that sprung open as a tiny green leaf on a stalk then sky- rocketed into a great oak tree. The growth and progression was shown to me as a zoom out effect with bright light bursting out from behind the branches and leaves at the end. The image was almost seared into the back of my eyelids and I couldn’t shake it off. It was an incredibly strange and oddly satisfying experience because I knew deep down exactly what this meant.
Rewind to 4 months prior.
I had been feeling lost, unmotivated and dissatisfied with the state of my life. I was existing in overwhelm within the scarcity mindset I had grown accustomed to. The repeating dialogue in my mind sounded a lot like this..
Why wasn’t I further along? I’ve worked so hard my whole life.
Why didn’t I have the house or car I wanted? I am at an age where these things are commonplace.
Why have I spent the majority of my life unmarried and completely on my own? I’ve always wanted a solid partner and family unit.. I’m tired of being so independent.
How did I end up in such a small circle with a few friends and distant family? I’ve always wanted a tribe to share life with.
Will it always be this way? Something, no everything, needs to change.
A trusted friend acknowledged my struggle and reached out to me with a life line. She shared with me how a particular transformational leadership course had completely changed her life and suggested that I consider enrolling as well. I had noticed the changes in her life, but I didn’t have confidence that I could create similar results. Doubt and fear had a tight grip on me. The same chains that had been holding me back from living and creating the life of my dreams. I knew this was what I needed to move the rails and shift tracks, so I gritted my teeth and leaped forward in faith and desperation into enrollment. My intention was to emerge on the other side as a strong entrepreneur, successful business owner and on my way to financial freedom while creating the life I’ve dreamed of for decades. My excitement for gaining these powerful business skills was off the charts and I was ready to do the hard work to level up. What I didn’t realize was that a much deeper and stronger foundation needed to be created first, and that started with me. I needed to become the best version of myself before I could build the legacy set upon my heart. And so the work began.
Fast-forward 3 months ahead.
It is truly beautiful how the Leadership program allowed each person to experience the course in a completely personal way. We are unique individuals, yet we share the same human conditions and secret traumas that alter the course of our existence. We all have created stories and limiting beliefs and our light becomes dimmed along the way. We forget. And, with a little reconditioning, we regain that valuable knowledge. I was reconnected with who I had become, who I am, whose I am and who I get to be moving forward. I know exactly what I get to create in my life and in this world. No more questioning my purpose or direction. Epiphany after epiphany, because I am doing the work and I am choosing to live in possibility, trust and faith. That mindset is opening my heart and soul in magical ways.
I’ve always had a very strong connection with God and with all of His majestic creations in nature, but now my love, faith and trust in Him have been deepened and fortified. I live in tune with the energy and rhythm of His Universe, the ebb and flow of nature and understand that what occurs around me is not by coincidence. Everything we attract is meant to serve us in one way or another. We have access to everything we need at all times and are fully loved and supported by our Heavenly Father.
The respect I have for life is universal and does not exclude the tiniest creature, born or unborn, nor the greatness of the heavens. I stand in awe daily at their magnificence. I also embrace their individual significance and I am curious about the messages they bring.
And, all of that information was the back-story for what I'm about to share with you next.
As I write this, it is the beginning of November on the East Coast of the United States. The weather has been average with daily temperatures ranging from the 40’s at night to the mid 70’s during the day. The leaves are falling from trees and the blooms of summer have become a memory. A gentle breeze rustles through what remains on the branches and the sun is sharing its warming rays from a further distance than we’ve recently known. Fall is here. The flirtatious time of anxious preparation before nature settles in for a long wintery nap.
It is the morning after the interesting dream that, for some, may have been a nightmare. While comfortably enjoying a hot cup of tea, the movement of a Monarch Butterfly and a brilliant Blue Jay perching on the small branches of a Rose of Sharon shrub pulled my gaze outside the window. They had arranged themselves close enough to beautifully display the contrasting orange, blue and green between them, but with enough space for the light to kiss the leaves in between.
Rather than carrying on with the task I had been immersed in, my thoughts shifted deeper to what nature and the gift of their presence was trying to tell me. It felt significant, and so I paused to listen and understand.
I was reminded by the tree, butterfly and sunlight that I am in a season of change and transformation, letting go of what once was, going inward and preparing to emerge with renewed life, purpose, in full bloom and new form in due time. I am becoming a stronger version of myself where my gifts and love light will shine bright into the world. The Monarch is also a symbol of spiritual transformation and the Blue Jay represents clarity, vision and fierce determination, all of which are happening along this new path I’m walking.
Two interlocked Dandelion wishes playfully floated through my field of vision and carried on out of view reminding me to keep dreaming and believing that all things are possible and to have faith and trust in what cannot yet be seen.
This directed my gaze further out into the yard to a playful young squirrel who I’m sure is the one I saved from the jaws of my Beagle last Spring. It is eagerly planting acorns around the yard without regard to its past and enjoying the present. It reminds me to plan ahead but allow the task to be fun, have trust that the seeds we plant now will serve us later and to have faith that we will have everything we need when we need it.
Standing in this moment of reflection, I am in awe of my awareness and the support I receive from God in the most interesting ways. I had been awakened by a dream of an oak tree sprouting from my flesh. Hours later a squirrel was planting acorns in my yard, dandelion wishes floated by, a Monarch Butterfly and Blue Jay came to visit as the sunlight warmed the earth… all reminding me that I am on the right path for transformation, rebirth and new beginnings.
I love how nature speaks to us when we keep our eyes and heart open to receive its messages. My wish for you today is that you'll also be blessed with kind and encouraging messages from God through nature. Are you open to receiving them?
With faith, love and trust,
Rachel
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