This week marks the shift in the northern hemisphere from spring into summer. This time of year always invites me to consider growth. What is growing in my life? What does growth mean to me? Why is growth important?
In my post last week, I referred to the importance of soul-growth. My body is the part of me that relates to the outer, or material, world. I see physical objects and people. I feel pain. I exert myself to accomplish physical tasks. My spirit is the part of me that relates to the Divine, that longs for connection to the unseen world. My soul is where the two meet. It is in my soul that I do the work of meeting my physical experiences in such a way that my relationship with the Mystery of the Divine deepens and strengthens.
Soul-growth refers to my capacity tone present to my own experiences and reactions with care. It is the process whereby I fully experience, rather than deny, my humanity, which includes my limitations, blind spots, and failures. It is also the process by which I become less afraid of seeing my own light, less worried that I’m not worthy of holding light.
This process is very different from “self-help” or “self-improvement”. Many of the teachings in these categories have, as their objective, making my flaws invisible, whether by denial or by elimination. The goal often seems to be to make my experience of life easier and happier, which is a laudable goal. Tools in the “self-help” world can even contribute to soul-growth.
The difference in soul-growth is that it is about the whole of me, not just the parts I want to eliminate, and not just the parts I want to make more visible. Soul-growth is rooted in knowing I have inherent value, that I am Beloved of the Divine, in this moment, exactly as I am.
This kind of growth is very different from the growth referred to in our capitalistic society. Economic growth or business growth are the result of something that is built. They require “making things happen”.
Growth in soul terms is more like the growth that occurs in the natural world. As a gardener, I plant what I want to grow. I tend it. I nourish it. I also know that the results are out of my control. I cannot impose my will or my vision on my gardens. I do my best to create the best conditions for growth, but I cannot make growth happen. The plants and the ground have their own wisdom, and growth happens accordingly.
In this season of spring-turning-to-summer in my world, I delight to witness the growth of sprouts from seeds, new plants from bulbs, leaves and flowers from buds. I love to witness how the gardenscape around me changes daily with new colour and foliage. I don’t so much enjoy witnessing the concurrent expansion of plants I consider weeds in the same space, and yet that is just as much a part of the growth cycle as the plants I cultivate and tend. I’m learning to delight in the tenacity of nature’s energy, even while I pull away what will choke out the flowers if I allow.
As I notice all this beauty and change externally, I feel an inner invitation to attend my inner growth as well. I am reminded to slow down in my busyness to listen for what needs tilling in my inner garden. What new thoughts want to be cultivated? What creative seed is asking for the nourishment of rest and stillness? How can I provide for myself the renewal of play and delight?
This is the invitation of this new season. May our souls be nourished as we attend.
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