Hello beautiful human,
It’s time for our weekly Call to Action, our Mission Possible…a chance to get out and connect to a world larger than ourselves and just slightly beyond our human-shaped understandings.
Yesterday I transplanted three clumps of peonies that made the trip from my hometown all the way up here. These were part of a blooming peony garden next door when I was growing up from age five to eighteen. I passed them every time I went down to the park or the town swimming pool, I played next to them, and a few years later walked past them every time I came home from my first boyfriend’s house. These blossoms graced my high school graduation party in gorgeous, sloppy bouquets that scented the air all afternoon. These are the ancestors.
So when my mother told me that the trees have all grown up and there’s too much shade, the neighbors are digging the peonies out and did I want any, how could I say anything but Yes? We don’t turn our backs on that kind of magic. Peonies don’t love being transplanted and it’s late in the season to even attempt it, but I’ll take the chance.
Our interactions with the natural world can be deeply relational. Maybe you have a tree, a waterway, a particular garden or corner that feels somehow special to you. A place you feel drawn to, or have always loved. Somewhere you find answers, or that helps you remember who you are. The ancestors are everywhere and ready to help hold us up. It could even be a certain type of flower, plant or moss that you’ve always loved, whenever you come across it. What would it feel like to acknowledge and honor that relationship?
Here’s this week’s Mission Possible:
Connect with the (Green) Ancestors
Today, take a few minutes to identify a place, or a specific plant or tree, that you feel a deep connection to. When did you first feel that connection? What memories or feelings do you associate with it? If you can, go out and spend some time there. Touch. Feel. If that isn’t possible in your day, just reach out in your mind and connect through memory, gratitude and imagination. Allow emotion and sense memory. It’s enough to say thank you. If you want to ask a question, tend, or leave a small (environmentally suitable) gift, that’s good too. It’s good to remember there are places and beings that support us in our journeying. Sometimes they hold the answers we need, even if that answer is simply a moment of peace or clarity.
Mission: Possible. But if you want the theme music from that other kind of mission to inspire you, here you go.
Don’t be afraid to go beyond the original Mission Possible. Follow your inclinations and inspirations and see what arises… Let the week take you playfully where it will, if you will.
It was a weekend full of family and projects. It was also a weekend of centering, remembering, and coming home all over again to myself. It was a weekend of physical labor in the garden and yard, and getting back into my body, just doing the sheer animal work of lifting, bending, digging, hoisting and tending felt lovely. Writing, even the deeply embodied writing that I attempt, is a sedentary and mostly mental activity. Gardening is a good complement, getting me out into the world and back into my body at the same time.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbb88d9f6-6401-4ba9-9816-d69904d5cd27_4000x3000.jpeg)
Today’s invitation: If today’s Mission Possible Monday prompt doesn’t appeal to you, what would? Give yourself a mission possible…something you can do with ease and gratitude in the cracks and corners of the day ahead, that will connect you to the world outside yourself.
Looking to grow the connection and the energy? Here are some possibilities:
Your attention and time are the true gifts. Thank you. xoS
Lovely, thoughtful writing here, Sarah. I'll be back to read more!