Being an author myself, I love writers. I love artists in general, but when a writer pours their heart and soul into a book, I'm humbled. Clea Danaan has done just that in her astoundingly rich book, Sacred Land.
As I am going through a profoundly painful, personal loss at this time, the melancholy I felt when I looked at my beloved garden drove me back into the house day after day. I would see that which I had planted so lovingly months earlier blooming, and the joy of the flowers was too much for me. They reminded me of a time when I couldn't wait for them to appear, a time when I was happy. And now, here they were happy and abundant, and I simply didn't feel that way. I couldn't enjoy anything through my sadness.
Clea suggests in her book that when we go to sleep at night, to ask the devas for a dream. I did just that.
The next morning, I stepped out onto my deck and looked out at my garden, blocked by my massively tall weeping willows. I couldn't see much and felt disappointed that these trees were in my way. But something happened. I stepped onto my drying lawn, pulled a chair under one of the willows, and sat in the shade with my coffee and wept.
I cried about my divorce and all the time I spent laboring in my garden, hopeful about the coming months. I felt so deeply sad that I almost did hear them speaking to me. It was a soft buzz at first, and then it grew louder.
I sat up and wiped my eyes. I heard them; bees. They were everywhere around me, in the trees and in the pussy willows. They were so loud I almost forgot that we were in a bee crisis. The world was having a bee shortage. And in that moment, the bees were all in my yard. I laughed.
And then it dawned on me, there is never a lack, the bees are somewhere, aren't they? Don't we all go where we are noticed or appreciated? I sat with the bees for a long time that day. And I have slowly begun to care for my garden again.
I brought Sacred Land out to my garden and read it. Toward the end of the book, one question popped out at me: "What change do you wish to see that you might bring to the world through your garden?".
And perhaps that is best answered here. We can all bring the bees back by inviting them into our world, can't we? I once said to a client when she asked where I was going to get the money to fund my newest project--"from wherever it is now," I told her.
Sacred Land takes you through a personal journey. And while Clea outlines organic gardening and gives tips, be prepared to find a personal awakening between the covers of this book. This is more than a random book on gardening, it is a journey. And I thank her for my simple awareness and the profound reminder of the power of a garden. Her focus on Organic gardening is a deeply rooted passion for her and is evident with her generous links and suggestions throughout the text, gently guiding us to care for the earth. She also reminds us that a garden is something we leave behind for future generations.
A wonderful read, and a powerful moon journey.
Sacred Land by Clea Dannaan is a magical and intuitive catalyst for change.
