Young Wood
Yielding to Challenge and Growing with Emotional Intelligence
Beneath the earth on the forest floor, the seed has been patiently gathering itself. As the sun’s warmth grows in strength and the Yang principal becomes more dominant the seed grows in impatience. Restless and eager to sprout it would be easy for him to throw himself upward and outward without care however, his longevity in his newness lies in his ability to slow down and pay attention to the details of the soil and the sun and the weather as they unfold around him.
The Seed’s Journey: Growth Through Patience and Attention
In early Spring the Yin energies remain subtly present, her role here is to continue to magnetize the Yang and help him grow, but she is also here to keep him in check. Her quiet presence reminds him that wisdom was gathered over the Winter, and that this inner knowing is his strength and creativity combined.
The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. – Eden Phillpotts
Spring’s Early Yin Influence: Supporting Yang Growth
The tiny seed sprouting is no different to new ideas becoming realities. Like water dripping on a stone, it is only when we slow down and examine our motives that we step into the power of intention. When we take the time to bring out the innate value of the small details at this stage of Springs Becoming we are also shoring up the foundations, and so the longevity of all we wish to bring into the future.
The seed of the great Red River Gum, dormant for years at a time, rises in the warmth at the first flood of the year. If he plans his birth well and moves slowly and thoughtfully through the debris that sits between him and the light he will make it to the surface strong and well orientated. He has one chance at this. If, as he breaks the surface he slows to read the light above he will know to send the bud of the first great branch into its arms. If he works the alchemy of opposites he will live to be 100s of years old, shaped by following the sun, the water and the nutrients, as much as he is informed by their limitation or absence.
We too grow on every level as we let go of needing to plan and sequence everything, and instead, pay attention and adapt to the path as it unfolds. When we gather, retain and nourish the little things along the way act like the water on the stone as bit by bit it creates a fertile valley. Trusting that nothing is an accident is essential to all the ways we are here to grow, evolve and learn in accord with our true nature.
Navigating Obstacles: Growth through Adaptation
When the rising seed meets a rock or unyielding surface on its journey to the light it is woken up from apathy and illusion, its psyche is stirred and a fork opens on its road. He will either wither under this force as he tries to push against it, or feel his determination strengthening as he pauses and allows it to accumulate before changing course.
Through submission to any blockage or challenge experienced, we discover (or release) our true power in accordance with it. Viewing an obstacle as the tangible vehicle through which we become unstuck helps us to grow with an openness that makes anything possible.
When obstacles are insurmountable
open to the teaching.
I Ching
Emotional Intelligence: Growing through Yielding
Through Springs varied, at times chaotic forces we can discover that brute strength and force make us brittle and vulnerable. That Woods vigour and clarity grow from close attention, sensitivity and yield to each obstacle or blessing as it crosses its path. That longevity and an enduring future are born from the cultivation of the type of emotional intelligence that allows us to be present in the nuanced experiences of like and dislike. Here in the pause we come to understand ourselves and our motivations, we yield to the path as it unfolds in real time, and direct our intention with clarity and the accuracy of an arrow towards the fullness of our every potential.
Yolande x