Germination in January
The urge to set new goals or intentions or resolutions is strong right now. It makes sense- new year, new slate. Be it making a vision board or starting a new habit or engaging in something productive, this feels like the time of year that we should make these changes. I mean, isn’t everyone? But by doing so now, we are missing an important step of the change and growth process- germination.
Germination is the process during which a seed grows into a plant. And the very first steps of this germination process are important, yet often forgotten. The start of growth happens below ground, before the stem and leaves even appear above the soil. It happens when the seed is resting
January is the time when we, too, need to germinate- to lie underground in quiet and darkness as we prepare to grow. What seeds can we quietly sew now that will blossom later this year? When we turn inward, what new insights can we gain? Breathe. Will we allow ourselves to rest, as nature has intended? How will your hibernation in January allow space for the spring growth?
Giving myself permission to rest, turn inward, and curl up feels right (even if it’s counterintuitive to my busy nature). Below is a poem I wrote, ages ago, even before I had an understanding of the importance of my winter rest. May you rest now so that you may later bloom.
-Promise-
Promise springs eternal.
Green buds push through cracked soil
Sitting in quiet observance of the shoes
That pass by on the gray sidewalks
Wanting to cry out in their glory,
Have the stranger acknowledge their triumph.
Do you know what it took to get me here?
My mother lay down her seed
In the fits of fall
And I stayed in the frozen ground,
Surrounded by darkness,
Aching for the direct rays of warmth
To graze my cheeks.
I gathered my reserves,
Listened to the whispers of the melting snow
As it fed my thirst.
I made friends with earthworms
And the creatures that call this place home.
They all told me of this day,
The day of my blooming,
Where I would push through the black
Out into this formidable world
To exist
And bring beauty.
Do you see me here?
I’m waiting.
Promise springs eternal.