vol. 5 AOS 7
Greetings,
Night is just now beginning to fall here in Montana. Daylight that lasts this late into the evening is a phenomenon this East Coast-Southern girl is still getting used to.
In this novel light, I find myself regarding a stubby cherry tree. I have never had a fruit tree before, but now I am the steward of one. I can't claim to know how to take care of it, but I am learning. The other day, I pruned away the dead branches, hoping doing so would not interfere with its fruiting, if it even was that I could count on there being any edible fruit; the gangly apricot trees don't look promising with their hard, green and black-spotted globules hanging glumly there.
Yet, now barley a week since I removed the dead, I have discovered reddish-yellow orbs exploding from the cherry tree's branches, like juicy stars.
It feels like a success. And snacking on these sweet-tart cherries, it also tastes like one.
My little cherry coup reminds me of the only other content I managed to deliver to my combined audiences this week. Namely, episode 41 of Off the Charts: A Stellar Newscast.
In it, my co-host, Elisabeth Grace, surprised me with an impromptu question, asking me to interpret a specific planetary combination per an astrological chart of the United States that she had cast for the remainder of the summer. Ordinarily, such questions are vetted and prepped ahead of time. But, okay. I was intrigued.
The key components of the chart, when pruned of any irrelevance to the question, were: praxis — that is, what we are known for doing and how we do it; self-inflicted wounds; harmony; action; and courage.
The answer came to me, beautifully but unexpectedly, like the cherries. You can listen to the episode for the full answer, but here is a taste: this summer will challenge us to redefine success. Many will find they can no longer will themselves into believing the ferocious grinding of our souls is necessary to our existence.
Our hearts will break for the sake of a handful of cherries.
Peace,
Whitney
Your writing! Your beautiful writing! xo
"Many will find they can no longer will themselves into believing the ferocious grinding of our souls is necessary to our existence.
Our hearts will break for the sake of a handful of cherries."
Yes. YES.