Tethered Tendrils
Summer in my garden last year brought two powerful reference points for inner exploration. The first came with an enormous watermelon plant that took over one of my raised garden beds. I affectionately named it my “Watermelon Monster.” The soil it grew in contained many little pieces of wood or bark, not yet decayed. The ground around the raised bed was fully covered in wood mulch. I watched its delicate tendrils each day, searching for something to attach to. It would wrap itself tightly around a skinny piece of broken twig, holding on for dear life. It was doing the best it could with what it had. It was, however, tethering itself to easily moved objects that did not offer true safety or security.
Have you ever been in a situation like this? How often have we tethered our tender, delicate selves to people or situations that are unstable, toxic or unhealthy, while maintaining the hope that they, and we (by default), would become solid? Trying to convince ourselves they are solid? Or being completely unaware that they aren’t solid? All is well until the winds of change, wreaking of truth, come blowing through our lives to detach us and give us the opportunity to see our illusions and re-tether to something stable. Only then can we make a different choice and create a solid foundation.
Are you tethered to someone/something stable and sturdy? Or something moveable and fragile?
Emerging Essence
The second tethering reference involved an invasive, climbing vine in my yard that would easily take over if not cut back.
Late summer, I noticed that it had overtaken one of my lilac bushes. As I approached this tangle of green, something struck me. What was truly a beautiful lilac bush, appeared to be an “invasive vine bush.” It had shape-shifted into something that didn’t represent its true form.
The vines were a tangle of chaos. I began to cut one small section at a time, carefully determining what was vine and what was lilac branch. As more of the lilac bush began to emerge, I thought of the freedom that comes when we cast off those things that intertwine in our lives, overriding our true essence.
It was shocking to see the tethers’ hold on the woody lilac branches. Some were wound so tightly that they cut deep grooves into the surface of the bark. As I trimmed, I saw many parallels to the work that my clients have done, setting themselves free and reclaiming their beautiful “lilac bush selves.” Slowly unwrapping the tethers – carefully cutting away the illusions they held as reality – faces brightening as they begin to glimpse the beauty of who they truly are. This beauty, the truth of who they are, is what I focus on from the moment they began working with me. It’s my job to see their lilac selves, and hold that awareness, until they can see it for themselves.
Is there anything in your life invading your space? Peace of mind? Sense of self? Overtaking you? Is there something you’re ready to let go of, to cut away from your life, that is keeping you from your true greatness?
As I did more of my own inner exploration, I saw that there are also tethers that are healthy, solid and sure. I look at the tethers I have with my children. Perhaps one could be a little looser, and the other more secure. The trick is getting the tethers just right, so they don’t cut off circulation or leave anyone flailing.
There is one ultimate tether, though, that affects all the rest. That is the connection to our soul, which is connected to our Source, that cannot be invaded or influenced by anything on the outside. That is our solid foundation, where the truth of who we are and the knowledge supporting that are held.
Who or what are you tethered to?
