I was recently in California and visited several vineyards. It was awesome and I had the good fortune of being given a private tour of a lovely winery. As the tour guide was explaining everything that goes into that amazing glass of wine we tasted at the end of the tour it made me stop and think about all kinds of things...like I'm a work in progress just like the grapes. It takes years to grow the perfect grapes to be able to produce the first harvest of delicious wine. You have to balance the soil with plants that will enhance the grapes, post the trellises north to south or east to west, shade the fruit from the intense sun by letting the leaves grow or trimming them up to ripen more quickly. It is the same thing when you are balancing your life.
Keeping things in balance is sometimes like being in a carnival with plates on sticks or juggling and throwing batons, or learning to stand on someone else's shoulders when you need to. I have worked through my life on things that would develop me emotionally, having the courage to look at my life fearlessly in the eye moving through challenging times as gracefully as possible, planting seeds to create the perfect balance in the soil of my life. As I am moving through this process of discovering the possibilities that lie in my future without my mother in it, I realize that I have been like the grapes. Each seed planted, each sheltered emotion wanting to burst through the ground, each side of me that I have shaded from the light, each darkness that dawns with new light and understanding stands for the million facets that make me, me.
I stand profoundly grateful for the soil, seeds, storms, sunshine, and challenging conditions that have presented themselves to me during my lifetime. I have no doubt I'm moving through the loss of my mother with grace and dignity and profound growth. I'm not sure when I'll be finished, probably never because I think when you stop growing you stop living, but in the meantime I am setting the table, polishing the wine glasses and preparing for the harvest of a lifetime. You have to believe with every fiber of your being that you have created the perfect blend for an amazing life, overflowing with light and love. Sometimes you just have to bet on the grapes being a flavorful combination that is aged well, balanced, luscious, full bodied, bold and elegant with nice legs. Just like me! So the message for today is I love my body more than challenging times. They only serve to make me dig really deep for the richness that lies within me.
Cheers!
XO,
Karen
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Yes, my dear goddess, you are as beautiful and rich as the grapes maturing into their luscious fullness. Beautifully written. And so it is.... xxoo L
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