calling in graceful unfurling

to the miracle of beauty blooming in layers

Peonies have bloomed wide open.

The colors are more abundant than I ever remember. Three years of roots expanding and settling in the making.

Their presence feels like a miracle — to know this of everything beautiful that my eyes touch, a miracle.

The joy of sharing these blooms for their brief moments too — weddings, a wellness retreat, and during a potent phone conversation while folding sheets at the Forest & Flowers Retreat House. I felt a special connection with the woman I spoke to, and from my view out the window, Peonies were calling our attention and uniting us too.

Bouquet by Forest & Flowers + me | Photo by Eva Lountz

As I’ve been feeling summer emerging, I recorded a new entry for “Sacred Seasons.” Sharing below.

Add the song too, I heard.

A few weeks ago, it was me with my flute, and my husband with his guitar. We just start playing and both think we’re following along as the other one finds a song.

I had no intention to record it (or share it). But I hit record after we played for awhile, in the same way I press the shutter button on the camera to capture what feels special.

Because… notice what delights you and record it. Take the photo. Write it down. Share it. No polishing or editing. Play for the fun of it, for the dance with creativity. Enjoy being captivated by beauty and finding some sort of melody along the way.

What are you practicing that delights you these days? Where are you allowing creativity to dance?

May you walk with eager hands this season, open your eyes to new songs, and with each breath, stoke your inner fire to offer your gifts in gratitude.

Thank you for these longer days of abundant light and warmth. For the way the Sun awakens us and each living being on the land. For the deeply regenerative elements of fire and earth that guide us to confidently share and offer our gifts.

May we notice the expansion and enthusiasm in Peony’s buds opening. Beauty birthed in layers. Graceful unfurling. A celebration arising from deep cold. Resilient holding. Thank you for exuding an aroma so sweet that our senses land into simply being. Remembering.

Teach us to be watchful, to observe daily at least twice. Noticing, gratefully, as fingers cross each petal. Remind us to leave some. To never take the first, and to never take the last. May we remember what a miracle it is for these blooms to be opening for this exact moment. To wonder and marvel at the sequence of it all. To open our eyes to the cycles and seasons holding us as we catch fleeting glimpses of new colors.

As we push ourselves to rise with the sun, remind us to breathe our bodies awake. As we speak to life around us, teach us to name the colors of the first plant we see each day. May we listen to the song of each flower opening. To Foxglove, Rose, and Lavender — to Wild Raspberry and Spicebush, we are listening. We are students of your resilience.

Gracefully unfurl, they say. Transform blooms into fruit, ripening beauty into sweetness.

Sink your roots into the water and allow it to cool your inner fire when you are overwhelmed with heat.

Exhale and send waves of gratitude to the trees.

Take a walk barefoot, slowly.

Find coolness with your hands in the soil.

Listen to Bee on the flower.

Share your appreciation.

Offer your attention.

We honor the abundance by saying thank you. Each bloom, leaf, and piece of fruit, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

When the pace quickens, may we expand our breath to move heat through our inner channels. As Beans tendrils find support on Corn stalk, teach us to find our pace as we grow steadily upward. Lead us to collaborate and resource together.

We weave a promise of reciprocity with our hands as we tend to the land. We are here to learn the ways of plants unfamiliar to us. To create something more robust and resilient than what was here before. We take responsibility for the land beneath our feet.

To giving and receiving, to layers of blooming and growth, to a familiar and new season all at once — we walk with eager hands, open our eyes to new songs, and with each breath, we stoke our inner fire to offer our gifts in gratitude.

Third Year Peonies at Forest & Flowers Retreat

Thank you for being here. Welcoming your reflections in the comments below. What are you practicing that delights you these days? Where are you allowing creativity to dance?

an invitation

Welcome to the Forest & Flowers Journal. Subscribe for free to receive new additions. If you feel inspired or nourished by this entry, consider sharing it so that any benefit may be extended to all. To send a quiet offering of support to the land, click below to learn more. Raising a mug of herbal tea to you in gratitude for your presence and support.