I drive past a certain field almost every day where an abandoned crumbling old cottage sits on its edge. Nothing surrounds it other than a mass of dead, dark, gnarly trees. It would be a scene best placed in a horror movie.
I often wonder what the cottage could have looked like in its heyday. I try and imagine the stonework in order, creamy and clean. The roof and windows in perfect order keeping the elements at bay. I imagine a long driveway edged in native flowers leading to a place someone once called home however it’s the trees that really stand out for all the wrong reasons. I wondered for a long time why they hadn’t been cut down until I saw their incredible springtime transformation.
Every one of the dead, dark, gnarly trees suddenly burst into life with a magical display of the most beautiful delicate pink blossoms. Not one of them failed to bloom. The field was instantly transformed with a mammoth flurry of pink blossom petals.
All it took was the right conditions for the trees to bloom. They had sat dormant, innocently and patiently waiting for spring. Did they realise their dead look could have been reason enough for them to be cut down, their beauty lost forever?
Sometimes we too have to retreat into a dormant state where we patiently await our own spring to come around in order to bloom again. Just like the trees, being in this dormant state preserves and protects our inner sanctum from the harsh life elements that surround us. It is a necessary function in order to survive while we wait for the return of the right conditions that will see us bloom again. It a natural process to go through and one that all too often we are denied due to demands placed on us to always be and look “happy”.
Nature has many lessons to teach us, lessons of survival, restraint and unleashed power. If you are feeling like you are in a current state of dormancy, or are heading there, a walk in nature will quickly nurture your soul. A walk among the eucalypts after a rain storm, or along a windswept beach will remind you of your own fragility and delicacy. It will remind you of the innate strength and regenerative ability that lies within you. It will show you the yin and yang of life, of which you are of course a great part of. It will teach you that dormancy is a natural survival tactic and a successful one. So if you are experiencing dead wood syndrome at the moment, take your time and be gentle with yourself. Let nature remind you how to achieve balance and harmony through rest and renewal. When the time is right, you will bloom magnificently and shower the world in your very own cotton candy coloured blossoms.