Do you know how to receive generously?

One of the core tenets to my work is that our own healing, and our own somatic experience can never be extracted from the living Earth body. For when we try to “heal” as individuals, or when we try to balance our nervous systems while leaving out the integral piece of inter-relationality, we are always missing the mark.

So many of us are seeking healing. Seeking clarity. Seeking purpose. We long to feel whole, to know who we are, and to remember what we’re here to offer.

When you remember that you are not separate from the Earth, that your body is made of water, stone, air, and fire, you begin to heal the illusion of isolation. This in and of itself can cause healing ripples throughout your whole body.

You begin to root into the vast intelligence of Life, which is always offering you guidance.

🌿The plants can mirror back to you your medicine.

🌿The seasons can teach you how and when to shed and bloom.

🌿The wind can whisper unspoken truths to you.

🌿The land can hold your grief and sing your name.

Your intuition sharpens when you’re in relationship. Your healing deepens when you feel held by the wider web. And your soul’s unique offering, your medicine, becomes clearer when you live in dialogue with the living world.

Animism isn’t separate from healing. It is healing. Because it reminds you that you belong.

And the beauty of this relationship is that the Consciousness of Earth is always inviting you into a deep reciprocity. I often talk a lot about giving back. Making offerings. Listening and honoring.

And the other side of the relationship is also equally as important. Learning to receive and drink deeply from the Earth’s well of love.

A lesson from end-of-summer abundance

This past week I was strolling through my neighborhood, admiring gardens, trees, and noticing the way life lives both courageously and generously. This time of year there’s so much abundance. There are trees heavy with fruits, so laden they’re falling off before anyone can harvest. There are flowers growing wild and seed heads casting themselves towards the soil.

And as I witnessed this unfolding story, I heard the land ask me if I could receive generously what they were offering.

This phrasing took me aback, as I’ve never consciously considered it generous to receive before.

Yes, I know that receiving is deeply important. That it’s essential to the flow of energy on this Earth. That when we receive we allow ourselves to be fed, we allow ourselves to say “yes I matter” and I belong here within the mutual giving and receiving system of this Earth Body.

And I know in my bones that receiving is a gift to the ones giving. It allows them to share their gifts and offer their care.

And still, this idea of receiving generously had me ponder.

Not receiving gratefully, not receiving graciously, but receiving generously.

In my felt body, that meant actively taking in. Not monitoring to see if I’d had too much, or if I was over-taking. But amorously drinking in to overflowing. Not feeling guilty or in-debt, like I’d owe someone something if I received more from them.

No. The offering is the receiving.

The land wants to give.

And when we don’t receive generously, we find fruits smashed into pavement. What the plants worked so lovingly to sweeten and ripen just so is never tasted, received, witnessed, and moaned over.

Reflecting on how to receive generously

So Love, what gets in the way of you receiving?

What keeps you separate from the Earth’s generosity?

What gets in the way of you claiming what’s yours to both receive from the world, and give back?

May you deeply know your belonging to yourself and this Earth.

And may you know your deep worthiness to both give and receive generously.

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Practice receiving generously from a plant ally

Plants have so much medicine, wisdom, support, and magic to offer us. To give, so that we can receive generously.

Take this quick and easy quiz to find the plant spirit ally who can best support you in this moment.

Remember: Relationship with the plants and the land is an investment. True, lasting, reciprocal relationships require time. Allow yourself to receive abundantly + generously from the medicine your plant spirit ally offers.