Winter: A season for deep rest, reflection, and renewal
We have endured some seasonally chilly days and nights already with those westerly winds and cold blasts across all states. As winter settles in, and nature slows down for a period of dormancy, this is your invitation to retreat and turn inwards as well. To reflect on the past year, and cultivate a deeper self-awareness, to appreciate the present, and prepare for the new beginnings that spring will bring.
We share some reflections from our founder Dr Peta Wright….
I stepped outside early in the morning and the clouds parted to reveal a perfect finger - nail moon – as if it came out just for me.
I walked down the driveway in silence under thick cloud that created a warm blanket over the beginning of the shortest day of the year.
As I came up the hill, I witnessed our majestic fig tree stretching her limbs up into the sky as the sun rose behind her.
She was awe-inspiring as ever.
She dropped two huge branches after she weathered the cyclone back in March. We thought she may have to be cut down, but she has survived despite losing almost a third of her branches.
She is over two hundred years old.
In a way she has defined and been the face of Vera. She has been the place we have gathered under several times a week for yoga, celebrated mama’s to be, birthdays and new babies.
She has been the beating heart of this place.
Everyone who visits has been struck by her beauty and majesty.
This morning as I sat amongst her roots with my forehead resting on her trunk, I realised something. What at first seemed like a huge loss, a tragedy far too sad to contemplate – the potential decay and loss of this beautiful tree, she represents one of the greatest lessons we are here to learn.
Our tree had dropped what was too heavy, unsustainable and was no longer serving her.
Yes, her appearance has changed, but she is still just as admired and loved as she was before, perhaps even more so for what she has endured.
It made me realise, that as we age and change, our appearance alters, we adapt, we let go, we lose teeth, we lose hair, skin elasticity, muscle mass.
How can we see that we too, are just as magical and beautiful even as we change?
Our incredible tree is teaching us the lesson of impermanence in our physical body and in the world around us. She is changed, yet her spirit, remains intact.
