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Garden Gate:  Fire  |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 30 2005 : 5:19:09 PM
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I have just spent the day doing yard cleanup... mainly burning last year's yard waste. Technically I am not supposed to burn, but the neighbors all around me that have fruit trees/orchards are allowed to burn, so I am defying EPA laws by burning. For me it is a seasonal rite of passage. There is something so cleansing about it. In the process I get my fair share of smoke, but I prefer to think of it as smudging myself!  What better way to let go of the old and renew.
This year there was an added dimension. I used an old metal garbage can and burned some letters from "a friend". I had put too much of myself into something that turned out to be a huge learning lesson. To the can I added dried lavender, and as I was trimming back my herbs, I also added thyme and some others. I decided that this was a good way to cleanse all that energy that went into this relationship. Then, when it was all just dust, I added it to my garden spot, and will till it into the earth. Ashes to ashes...dust to dust.... another experience that has taught me more about myself.
Do any of you use seasonal burning almost as a rite of passage? Do you find it healing and renewing?
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Apr 30 2005 : 5:30:01 PM
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What a neat idea. I did alot of work in my herb garden today too..but more pulling grass that had jumped the "line" and stuff like that than things that would burn. People burn stuff all the time here..and I am sure it wouldn't have smelled as good as your herb cuttings and stuff!!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2005 : 05:37:33 AM
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Clare, I understand what you are going through. It is difficult. I had to go through the process of cutting myself of from a "friend". It was not a healthy friendship and I finally said I cannot be treated this way any longer nor did I agree with her life decisions. It truly is a learning process.
farmgirl@heart
Be at peace with yourself and the rest will follow |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2005 : 10:04:50 AM
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Clare,
Me too! Been there done that. Very releasing! Most of my yard waste goes to the compost and burning is prohibited most of the year but in spring it is allowed with a permit so we burn a few things. We got a chipper for some of the limbs that came down but the big ones we burn as we do not have a wood burning fire place and most people around here who do will not burn the scrappy stuff.
Burning the letters and stuff is a good way to release the energy in the words.
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2005 : 11:24:24 AM
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I can relate to what you are going through Clare. Have used fire as a cleansing to burn old letters from toxic relationships in my past. I think it can be used to refine and temper a wounded spirit. I went out the past several days to my vineyard and have severe frost damage to the vines. It is painful to look at as they had already put out their tiny bunches of grapes. Now they have been burned back by the cold and have died. I try to look at this as a metaphor for life...that we have to lose something to gain. That the loss and pain can be a new time of growth and renewal. And working the land can teach humility. Is it all out of our hands?
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2005 : 12:37:04 PM
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Thanks girls, for the kind words and empathy. Cleaning up our lives can be a very good thing, materially and metaphorically. I am being renewed by the process.
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2005 : 5:11:44 PM
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Clare, I have been there too. It takes wisdom to light that cleansing fire, and doing so was a sign that you were ready to be healed and ready to let the whole situation get purified and released.
What a wonderful way to accomplish a chore and also freshen your frame of mind. Thanks you for sharing that story with us.
jpbluesky
O, cease to heed the glamour that blinds your foolish eyes,
Look upward to the glitter of stars in God's clear skies.
from God's Garden by Robert Frost |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2005 : 6:37:56 PM
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Girls, In my readings today I came across this quote that I thought was so appropriate for me now, and it may be helpful to many of you too:
"You can do two things with hurt: you can pull that scar off and whittle it into a knife, or you can make it into a key."
-Claudette Ortiz
Another fresh perspective. Love it when I come across bits of wisdom.
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2005 : 7:38:35 PM
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That is such an appropriate quote!
farmgirl@heart
Be at peace with yourself and the rest will follow |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2005 : 8:52:38 PM
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Clare-- the act of release is also one of forward movement. Think of this ritual as a step toward a new path to your future. Sometimes the old and familiar is what we accept but if we challenge ourselves to try an unknown path we may find that we have stepped out of our comfort zones only to discover we have arrived in a better place than before. May your journey bring you the peace and clarity to reach your joy and bliss. Be well.
with a happy heart |
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Garden Gate: Fire |
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Fire
