More than any other is the perpetual rise and fall of life in the passage of time. An unwritten order and intention, behind it all, regardless of any personal design. Terence O'Brien Buffalo, New York Inner work has long been the commitment of the spiritual seeker. It is an ongoing process that changes with the stages of life. How you tend the soul as a young mother is quite different from the consciousness-nurturing of a wise old woman, who has seen birth and death firsthand.
Foliage dies away, composted for the next cycle of regeneration and growth.
This is how the garden takes form, from matter to yielding, then back to matter again. What is important is the tending of this inner garden, the growing ground of the heart. Reflecting back, I see my inner garden as it died down in the fall, was covered with bitter cold winter, came to life in the warmth of spring, and bore fruit all summer. In the winters of my life little bulbs had to push through layers of cold, dark earth, the weight at times unbearable. Somehow pushing against this, I forced through like a tulip reaching for the warmth of the sun.