Passionflower Tale

Yesterday I read a book.

Sometimes I can do that, you know, sit down and read the whole thing in a short amount of time.

Sometimes it's because I took a speed reading course as a kid, 

and sometimes it's just because it's a really good book and I am blessed/cursed with three hours in a parking lot while my kids are in their programs. 

In this case it was the latter. 

It's a pretty little book by the wonderful Shakti Gawain, called Creating True Prosperity. I knew it would be a book more about mindset than money, (are they different, really?) which is why I got it. I like to feed my brain with good perspectives and techniques.

At the same time, I can't seem to get passionflower out of my head. the image of this sexy, decadent flower and it's unusually sweet-putrid-overripe odd tasting leaves have just twined their way into my psyche. It seems to be a plant that, although climbs with skill and logic, blossoms with reckless abandon; a perfect expression straight from the heart of the plant.

This is the thing about being directly with the plants, it's really the same as reading a book except it's wordless and full of touch. You get the whole story, the details, the nuances, the tones. You get the past present and future if you watch them grow and fruit.

And then the story becomes you.

With the droplets from the tincture bottle or the sipping of tea, suddenly the chapters include you, and the legacy continues. 

As I wrapped the vines around my neck - which was the easiest way to carry them after harvesting from the lattice - my system relaxed into joy. My muscles released tension, and my heart beat peacefully. The peculiar taste of the leaves was intensely comforting; slightly warm, soft, mothering, moistening, strong and steady. 

I chewed it slowly and invited it into my body.

It was welcomed company.

Like a best friend who comes over with soup and a helping hand.

Or a wise word at just the right moment.

And a reminder of worthiness and value and the intertwining of nature and humans.

What does the book have to do with anything?

It's the part where the brain has to re-learn how to be of service to the heart, to the body's wisdom.

Good books and wise wisdom train the brain, while the plants retrain the physiology.

Together, they are a powerful pair, capable of interrupting trigger patterns, tantrums, regressions, rage, abusive language, relationship glitches, and can hold your hand through the dark places.

These are the passionvine tendrils that hold us up long enough to blossom, knowing that the friction needed to burst into bloom is always a mating of polarities.

Passionflower.

Passion.

Flower.

Your passion

your flowering.

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copyright Ananda Wilson

PlantJourneys.com

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