One foot in the grave

Three years ago, when I moved to South Carolina, we had a huge storm and this lovely tree was toppled over. All the leaves died within a very short time and I was sad that this Majestic Tree had lost it's place in the forest heading to the Lake. The Winter came and the next Spring I noticed a few leaves trying their best to burst through the uprooted Tree!

On a walk this winter I noticed that not all the root base had become dislodged from the ground. Most of the intricate root system was exposed, but there was a tiny bit still embedded in the soil. This is a picture of the tree this year!!!!

I stood and pondered the remarkable message that Gaia gives us at times like this. Magnificent Tree had one Root in the Ground and yet fought to be the Tree it once was even if it was now laying on the ground! Oh yes, the underside is not growing well, but it learned to branch outwards and forward! And more Roots have begun to find their way back into Mother Earth!

Once again it is a home for birds (there are nests in the branches) and squirrels run a muck chasing each other up and down the branches even tho' they lay on the ground now and don't reach for the sky!

One Foot in the Grave and still Living and Breathing; Producing and Creating; Providing Shelter and Food! This Tree did not give up the Ghost so to speak just because it no longer stood tall and regal! It now looks more like a bush than a tree, but it doesn't seem to be complaining at all. The Magnificent Tree is as regal as it once was; just in a new way!

Humans could learn a lot from The Magnificent Tree!

We too often feel we have "one foot in the grave" and thus are no longer productive; no longer the same person we once were; no longer rooted to our Journey. And yet for this Tree it only took one root to hold on to all that Was so it could become all that Is!

Many days, when the aches and pains get the most of me, I feel like I have that "one foot in the grave". My mind isn't as sharp as it once was; I live alone and my children are on their own and really don't need me much anymore; and the job I had as a social worker is no longer what makes me feel like I am making a difference in the world. For some of my friends, arthritis or Fibromyalgia has stopped them in their tracks and they can't seem to fathom blossoming and growing in any other way; they are blinded by the storm of a disease that has stripped them of their feeling of self worth.

Goddess never takes anything away from us. We live in fragile bodies and as such these bodies are at risk of being uprooted and knocked down by the storms of life! What Goddess does is give us a choice of laying there and entering the Grave before our Time or looking to Her to help us see what growth is now possible and how to hang on to Her even if we only have one tiny root still attached.

You see, we always have one tiny root attached to Goddess, even if we think we have been totally uprooted! She is stronger than we are and She holds on until we can shake off the dust and debris of the storm. She waits so She can show us who we can be laying down with "one foot in the grave"! For you see, Goddess never sees the grave as an ending but an opportunity for a beginning: whether here or there!

The Magnificent Tree did not survive all by itself! No, the rains and dirt provided nourishment; the Sun provided Energy for growth and the other trees provided shelter from further damage. And so it is with us; we cannot keep the other foot out of the grave by ourselves! We need each other; we need all that Gaia provides for us! It is hard for sure, but in the end we stand tall for others to witness and gain strength from so that when they come upon those storms they too will know that their one foot in the grave is what will keep them anchored so the other foot can continue to grow and produce and provide! We are all in this together!

It's the message of The Magnificent Tree!

Blessed be!