For the week of October 29 – November 4, 2018
The Garden
Came across a picture of a door in an old wall on FB today. The imagery is
very powerful for me and evokes The Secret Garden, one of my most
favorites books and musicals. The image of the door and a key has a huge
place of honor in my awakening, so much so that I wore a gold key for
years before it was fashionable. I eventually gave the key to my daughter
who performed in a lead role in the ballet of The Secret Garden, based on
the Broadway show. A few years later, she tragically lost it, along with the
rest of her jewelry, in a robbery.
I was devastated at the key’s loss but have come to see that the physical
embodiment of the symbol had to be lost so that I would remember that
that key was always within me, as was the door. Many, many times in my
life, I had faced a locked door and had to choose to unlock it. As I stood
before these doors, I have run the gamut of response from “I can’t” to “I
won’t” to “I don’t deserve this”.
Sometimes I have been afraid to unlock the door. Sometimes I have
unlocked the door and been unable (unwilling?) to enter. Sometimes I
have embraced the opening. What I have discovered is that the Garden is
always waiting. It is always willing. It is always home. The love, the Light,
the welcome I have discovered inside the garden always awaits me, and
yet each time I come to the door, it is a new permutation. I must face the
door as if for the first time all over again.
In the midst of the absolute chaos and shadow running rampant in our
physical world, I came to the door again today. As I said, it appeared on
Facebook, that mirror disguised as “social media”, the implication being
that it involves “others”. I spent the afternoon with a dear friend having
lunch and watching “Moana”, a wonderful Disney movie that repeatedly
asks the question “Who are you?”
We had repeated interruptions as the dogs barked and asked to go out, the
phones rang, and people came to the door. Still and again, we returned to
the movie. What I began to notice is that the interruptions came when
Spirit revealed itself within the story. I was being asked to pay attention,
which was not easy as I was hostess and pet owner, dealing with my own
little bit of chaos.
It wasn’t until after my friend left that I was able to really process what
occurred and I began to see the part my doors played in this afternoon. I
welcomed friends inside, I let my dogs out to use the bathroom, I welcomed
them back into the house. It was an entirely different perspective from
standing outside the door trying to to decide whether or not to open the
door.
I came to see that I was already inside; that standing outside was no longer
an option for me, and I began to apply that to the huge transmutation
happening in our world. The key has been used, the door is open, and we
are inside. The Garden is ours. The new world is here.
This does not mean that all work ends here. On the contrary, this is where
the real work begins. Clean up must begin. Any gardener knows that much
work goes into preparing the Garden and restoring its Light. The job is
often daunting and feels overwhelming, but it is critically necessary.
And now I return to the question “Who am I?” I am a Guardian of the
Garden, in my own little corner of the world. And I am also a Guardian in
tandem and connection with all of you as we welcome the New/Old World
into physical existence.
This is where we are. We have arrived in the Garden but we must clear out
the deadwood, weeds and brush. We must fertilize and nurture the tender
growth. We must trust that our hard work and faith will bear abundant fruit.
Our Garden requires our absolute commitment and vigilance.
It is hard to keep faith and hold the Light when each day brings dark news
and our very world feels threatened. And yet, this is the time we must hold
most strongly to all that we know is true.
We are not outside the door any longer. The new world is here and it is our
responsibility to clear away any Shadow and debris from the past that holds
us back. We are the Guardians. We are the Garden. Let the blooming
begin.
***This guidance column was written by Jan Finley for TheCosmicPath.com. It may be shared freely, but only when the author’s name and website are included.