Feeling distraught over the state of the world, particularly the potential future of the USA, I walked the Labyrinth. As I made a turn, I saw a Pawpaw fruit sitting upon one of the walls. I continued walking in awe as Pawpaw was of course the perfect support at that moment.
As I got closer to the fruit, I realized that the Pawpaw was simply a rock that one of my children painted green which I recently found in a box of their things and added to the Labyrinth. This realization only added to my awe. Here was a simple art project that my children made 15 – 20 years ago which until recently was completely forgotten and yet, ki brought forward the exact wisdom and support that I needed on this particular morning.
You may be wondering why Pawpaw was so significant or even who is a Pawpaw. Pawpaws are Trees native to my area and much of Eastern US with relatively large, soft fruits about the size and shape of a mango. These incredible Trees are the only member of the Custard Apple family (think Cherimoya and Soursop) to grow in Northern climes, all the others are tropical fruits. Pawpaws are ancient and one of the first Trees to appear after the glaciers receded. They nourished Mastodons, Indigenous Peoples, and escaped enslaved people finding their way to freedom. Then as industrialization took over agriculture, Pawpaws moved into obscurity. In recent years, the relatively unknown Pawpaw has become quite hip and popular.
A number of years ago, Pawpaw insisted that I bring the HEARTransformation students to spend time in their forest. I thought this was simply a fun excursion and a way to introduce others to Pawpaws. However, once we were there, I realized Pawpaw was stepping forward as a good ally for the particular time we are in. Ki continues to orchestrate the schedule to be sure that we spend time in the Pawpaw grove. As an ancient pioneer Tree, Pawpaw knows how to navigate Earth changes. Having evolved from a tropical Tree to thriving in environments with temperatures as low as -30°, ki is an expert in adaptability and resiliency. Pawpaw also encourages playfulness and joy, warning about our tendency to take life too seriously.
Seeing the Pawpaw impersonating rock that morning, I immediately understood the wisdom and support of the Plants. They reminded me of my own resilience and adaptability. As I continued to walk with the Plants, I shared my heartache and concern. they encouraged me to pay attention to the details, become minutely observant, and remember to focus on one step at a time, while also keeping an eye on the bigger picture.
Pawpaw showed me that evolution tends to occur in tiny almost imperceptible shifts who together add up to a large change. If I was feeling frustrated with the state of the world or the slow pace of change, I should look for the small shifts: the people creating a more loving world, the places where the Land and Waters were healing, the small every day encounters with others even strangers. These sometimes minuscule moments of Love and connection are evolution in process.
When my Heart is hurting or when I get overwhelmed with the pain and injustice in this world (and let’s face it there is much that is not in alignment with Love and needs to shift) my Allies pointed out that I can create more of these small moments of Love. They suggested that we are all being asked to bring more Love into this world in the ways that we are able to. Some days this means helping a client heal a long Ancestral pattern, other days it means speaking up when an injustice is witnessed or lovingly pointing out a racist or sexist bias, other days it means checking on the wellbeing of a community member, other days it is connecting with a stranger, and still other days I can increase Love by spending time enjoying the beauties of life.
The point is that these small moments matter and they are in our sphere of influence. Engaging in them, we remember our connection and interdependence, we see the Divine in one another.
Many of us grew up with distorted and confusing examples of “love” and I sometimes see these getting expressed in spiritual communities. To be clear, when I talk about Love, I use M. Scott Peck’s definition: “the will to extend oneself for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth.” Therefore, trying to keep the peace by ignoring harm or abuse is not Love. Nor is making ourselves smaller or suppressing parts of ourselves to make others more comfortable. Love is not always sunshine and happiness. Sometimes Love is expressed through anger or even rage (restoring boundaries) and sometimes the most loving way to respond is to no longer engage in a relationship with someone. When in doubt, I ask myself if my actions support the spiritual growth of myself or the other parties involved.
We get to determine the future of Earth (and the US). There are some who want to overwhelm, confuse, and separate us to take away our power. However, there are more who want a loving world that supports the flourishing of life, who want us to live the life of our Heart’s calling. If we take the time to look around and pay attention to those miniscule moments, we can see the support and Love that surrounds us. We can see evolution in action.