Grandmother Stump

SoulCards(c) Deborah Koff-Chapin

I sit upon Her surface, the smooth flat grain a sad testimony to having been cut down in Her prime rather than fallen naturally. And yet, 'to all things there is a season,' who am I to question, and perhaps She would have chosen to give Her life for the good of someone--probably.


So now, as I sit upon Her, I feel the ancient energy channels continuing to plummet deeply to Gaia's core, drinking and feeding, accepting and giving, Her Nadi flowing subtle and strong with creation and participation in the web of life. I sit and feel my own roots join Hers as we allow the Oneness to manifest and bring healing and soothe exhaustion from Her ever-plentiful supply of love and wisdom. Within the roots' patterns, faces emerge slight and ghostly, sharing the knowledge passed through generations. The past can be an exquisite gift when I embrace it for the goodness it brings of love and healing, and transform any painful residue left in it into  a rainbow of honey that flows thick and sweet through my Being and Doing. 


Creating a haven, the roots twist and twine with a cradle here and a staircase there, Her infinite design flowing through life and sheltering, protecting whenever I am needful. Warm and willing, Gaia ever-present.


Bitter-sweet tastes strange upon my tongue as I feel my roots begin to pull away from this specific place, this lovely land I have rested within for many years. Her land that has taught me so much about presence and transformation . . . about letting go and allowing flow to happen . . . about death.  


She has shown me how to embrace my Self fully--Soul as well as Personality and Constitution. For while I am a Spiritual Being using this form in this lifetime, I have come to understand how to honor form in all of Gaia including that which shows me as form. All Her Elementals have come together in a unique and precious package--me--and I honor this gift. A beautiful realization indeed, to know Self and to accept Form. Embrace the experience and share whatever qualities I have for the benefit of others. For this body gives an illusion of separation that I know is not real. We are One. 


As I sit upon Grandmother Stump, she fills me with peace and awe for all experience of form is imbued with love and lessons. Learning is a gift of the manifest world that I open to again and again when it is carried upon the wings of love and within the heart of Gaia.


Deep gratitude for the Infinite ever-expansive invitation to open heart and eyes to realize love and wisdom in form and spirit . . . not to lose Self in seeking Spirit but to embrace the beautiful Wholeness of Being.

Beautiful Grandmother Stump

Gump, Stump and Statue