Clear Minds Passion and the pursuit of passion define the core of being Human. It is the new story - one created with each new experience and each new lesson. And you are the teacher.

Rains fell on dry lands.  Three days of clouds, wind and accompanying cold kept work to a minimum.  It first arrived as a fine mist, turning the invisible into the visible; the gossamer threads of geometric designs, the fine clear beads of moisture, the frogs lavishing amongst fresh pools, and the canopies’ quiet with their absent butterflies.  It was beautiful as the bush became still and that space for reflection broadened; the birds seeking shelter wherever they could.  But soon the change was hard to breathe, uncomely harsh.  The sun was missed.  The work was tedious and slow.  And the extinguishing of our evening fires brought cold food to the dinner table.

When the showers came, we discovered our tasks under roof.  Laura and I bundled up on the Rainbow House’s veranda and busied our fingers.  We watched the storm clouds roll in from the east as our hands slowly grew tired.  Our job: prep bay leaves for the dehydrator.  Yes!  Exciting.  Thrilling.  Unbelievably exhausting.  And it was, truly.  It was all these things for the first couple of minutes until the latter overtook our conscience and began to rust our restless bones.  We wanted movement, distractions!  But it needed to be done, and we were delighted to do it, so we sat, conversed and watched the sky’s turmoil.  

Taking long boughs from the garden, we clipped them clean and dragged our fingers over the entire leaf, removing unwanted debris.  The aphids, the dirt, the cobwebs, etc.—they all became lodged within our nails.  Then, stacking a pile, we found another leaf and continued.  It was long and meditative—moments consumed with silence betwixt the estranged chatter that accompanies any two gigglers teetering on the edge of delirium.  

It was in these moments of silence when our brains calmed allowing us to hear the rain behind the calls of the kookaburras, whom so easily found laughter despite the wet chill.  Nature echoed through my mind.  It filled my body and aroused my longing for something deeper, something farther into the quiet.  I sat.  I looked across at Laura.  We smiled and stripped leaves like hyper koalas.  The two of us, immobile at the patio’s table; and the wallabies emerging from the gum trees to nibble on the garden’s treats.

The Dreamtime of Winter

During the night in our caravan, Laura and I were reserved to the basics of raw food preparation due to soggy grounds, damp kindling, and oh yes…the rain.  Therefore, we exposed our imaginations and made fresh salads of greens and fruits, along with concoctions of slaws and varying nori wraps.  We filled our bellies with rosemary and lemongrass tea, read the pages of our thick books and quickly passed into the dreamtime.  Bundled in our many layers, the cold crept in through the windows and brought us back to reality.  All warmth was absent outside the blankets as night grew darker whilst the bush filled with mystery.

Three days of rain.  On the last night came the tempest.  The tin roof overhead thundered with bullets of water.  It was a symphony of current as though a mad river broke its barriers and surrounded us.  We slept off and on, waking and waiting until the Pacemaker would lift from its foundations and sweep us away to our fates.  Though to our surprise all was intact at dawn’s arrival.  Stepping from the door into the crisp daylight, eyes adjusted to find the water dams fuller, the orchids satiated, along with the aloe vera plants in their beds, the mangos in their groves and the grapes lined in their vineyards.  Each was freshly polished with a new sheen of light reflecting the storm’s nourishment.  

Inhaling, I smelled the earth and its abundance.  The land was alive and wore its new armory of green, yellow and brown with pride.  And to our eyes, which gazed over the work we’ve completed in the past three weeks, we saw the wealth, the wisdom and the vitality behind Mother Nature.  Southeast Queensland was refreshed, nourished by the Antarctic winds in the midst of an Aussie winter.  

Now with the sun full within one of the widest blue skies I have ever seen, Laura and I, along with Helga and Claus, step back into the gardens to get our hands muddy.  The small town of Widgee is back on track with its annual 320-plus days of sunshine.

Eternal Sunshine

The clock ticks to our departure.  With two days left at the time of writing, we are both thrilled to explore, as well as grateful to the amount of knowledge and experience we have acquired from both Helga and Claus.  
    
There were times when we loved it.  There were times when we despised it.  There were times when we simply wanted more sleep, warmth, extra layers and some clean laundry never worn.  Albeit, the work around the Rainbow House as volunteer WWOOFers has been enlightening, awakening our conscience to the plentitude of the earth as well as the depths of emotions found within each mind, body and soul.  In the end, one thing is clear:  We can all choose to turn away from that which we know best and most beneficial, and run headstrong into ignorance.  We can ignore the land and remain unaware of its native processes.  We can deny its wisdom and nutrients, which it willing offers to each and every one of us.  We can escape into what is easiest, cheapest.  Or we can embrace it, live it, feel it in its totality and experience the beauty; all the pains and triumphs of working with the land, and therein, working with our neighbors and ourselves.  The key is what we find inside, whether that is the call of our planet for environmental awareness, or likewise the child within our hearts wishing to be heard, healed and loved.  It is our God-given will to choose any of these options.
   
I will look back on this experience one day soon and I will discover an immense amount of depth and growth.  I will see the lessons more clearly and feel the wisdom more powerfully.  And I pray with all my heart that the sun will keep shining within the space we share.  I love you with every ounce of my being, and will never deny you this in all the ways I seek to express myself.