Stir Your Soil!

     Have you ever thought about the way soil needs to be stirred to become fertile and full of life? Just like the soil, our inner selves sometimes require a deep turning over – a stirring of emotions, memories, experiences to truly heal and come back to life. As we embark on our own healing journeys, it’s worth pondering: What does it mean to stir the soil of our hearts and minds?

     As you reflect on the idea of stirring your soil for self-healing, consider the power of digging deep within yourself and unearthing both the weeds and the fertile ground, in order to nurture growth and transformation. It is not a delicate process. To witness the beauty that your life can be takes work and commitment. It is the constant action of pulling up what creeps in to inhibit your personal growth as well as opening up yourself to the nourishment that is necessary for you to thrive and flourish. Just as soil must be turned to encourage the growth of new life, we too, must confront our internal struggles, clear out the obstacles and create space for healing.

     Stirring your soil is an act of self-discovery and recovery. Like the soil, we experience seasons of being neglected, compacted and in need of revitalization. By turning inward, facing our vulnerabilities, and allowing ourselves the grace to grow, we can come to understand how essential it is to stir the soil of our own being, embracing the discomfort of change to ultimately bloom into a healthier more fulfilled version of YOU. It always starts with taking one step forward…being open to the quest of overcoming life obstacles to effect change for your personal journey.

     Allow me to share my experience with you.

     Peace was given to me several years ago and is the first plant I have ever had success in keeping alive. I took her to live in my cubicle at work so that I had something positive to look at each day. She grew accustomed to a mixture of natural and fluorescent light. She adjusted well to her surroundings and grew into a tall, full plant. When I resigned from that job, I took Peace home to her new space. I placed her in front of a large window in my dining room where she would get plenty of natural light.

     During the next year, I watered her weekly and talked to her every morning as I opened the blinds to allow the light shine in on her. One particular morning, I noticed that her leaves were turning yellow. I began to cut them off one by one in hopes that a new leaf would grow where the one died, but over time, Peace lost all of her leaves. I was heartbroken. I remember standing in the dining room staring at what was left of her; a thin stalk with nothing growing from it. For the first time I had managed to keep a plant alive for over four years, and then, nothing. What seemed like my failure to nurture Peace hit me even harder during that time because my marriage was falling apart and I was not in the greatest place mentally, emotionally or spiritually. As I stood at the dining room table trying to will Peace back to life, as if in a blink of an eye I would see a sprout emerge from the soil, I debated whether I should give up and toss out what used to be an encouraging symbol of life to me or keep her and do all I could to revive her.

     It was late at night and the entire house was quiet...very still. As I was standing there picturing Peace as the full green plant she once was, I heard so clearly these words: “Stir the soil”. No joke! Those words spoke deeply to my soul that night. They were not meant for just the plant; it was a literal and figurative message to me that I didn’t fully understand was for me until sometime down the road. I was absolutely exhausted during this time in my life. Some days I wasn’t even on auto-pilot. I couldn’t tell you how I made it through my day. My life was upside down and I had nothing to give to anyone, not even myself. I was so broken and I remember what it felt like to just try and breath at times…it was painful. Nevertheless, something in me just refused to give up and in that moment, I made the choice to care for this plant that somehow seemed to be an extension of me. I went to the kitchen and found an old, large plastic spoon and I went back to the dining room and began stirring Peace’s soil. I placed her back on the table in front of the window and every day I went to the dining room, opened the blinds, told her good morning and gave her some encouragement to grow again.

     I continued to water Peace weekly. I would great her each day and say her name and tell her that I loved her. I anticipated the day I would see a leaf forming on her lonely branch. And then, one morning it happened! I walked into the dining room to open the blinds and there was this tiny, brand new green leaf sprouting from the soil. I felt life flood back into my body that morning! I shrieked like a little kid as if it was Christmas morning seeing all the presents Santa had left me under the tree. I yelled out “I knew you could do it!”. She came back from seemingly nothing. I don’t know what all took place under that soil, but what I do know is that moment set in motion for me the very steps I needed to take to come back to life.

     Looking at Peace, I felt hope again, for myself. And suddenly, the message “stir the soil” made sense. My own environment had changed and I wasn’t thriving. Each day, all I could see in front of me is what was dying. Because I was hurting so much, I wasn’t paying attention to the gift I was being given in the process. Stirring my own soil meant acknowledging and confronting a lot of pain and a lot of hard truths. I had to learn to be vulnerable with myself and about my circumstances. I found that although I was in a situation where it felt like death, that grieving was not necessarily a negative thing once I understood what to do while in it. There was so much I needed to shed. So much I had taken on over the years that had suffocated who I truly am. Once I became willing to open myself to the process, it became easier to let go of what was weighing me down. One step at a time combined with a safe space and nonjudgmental support I began to see me, who I am really meant to be. I was blooming.

     Stir your soil! Are you ready to embrace renewal that leads to growth and transformation? Find a quiet space and reflect on the changes you are seeking for your life. What areas of your life feel stagnant or are in need of fresh energy. How can you begin to cultivate renewal in your life today? Write it down!

                “Never underestimate the impact your environment has on your growth. Plant yourself in rich soil.” -  Khutso Theledi

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Happy New Year everyone! We’re here for you!