It was as if they had always been waiting for me. For a long time, or maybe just a moment. The plants were with me, kind, generous, understanding. Like the voices of my ancestors because in fact they are, in a way, my ancestors. They called me their child. They spoke like my grandmothers, like wise ones. They sometimes whispered things I had considered; they sometimes surprised me with their insights. They always made me feel seen, heard, protected, like they had my back … because they did -- from now on -- have my back.
Reciprocity with the spirits of plants
You see I had made a bid for power. Not power in a hungry ego centric grabbing way. But power in the sense of recognition of the fact that everything is alive … just as I am alive … power in the sense of belonging, of respecting, of right relationship. In the sense of cause and effect. And they heard my call, my bid for power. And they saw my offerings: all I poured into the learning, changing, offering the fear, daring with the dreams. And they deemed it good.
The plants are always there
And they helped me to cultivate listening. They held my hand and whispered when I thought I would give up. They up-held me. And they helped me uphold my commitments. Not just with them but eventually with every other in my life. Yes, even the close, drama-ridden, critical, intense relationships. Especially those. Right relationship. Even when there seemed to be nothing at all going on. Even in the dark. Even when I felt alone but of course, I wasn’t. The plants are always there. Because I had been welcomed and initiated and had worked and asked and sacrificed and proven my love, my devotion, my purity of heart … somehow.
What does Plant Spirit Medicine mean to me?
A relationship for life. With the spirits of plants. What does it mean? They have my back. It means I can live. It means I can assert my boundaries, and it isn’t the end of the world. It means I have a voice, a strong voice: my own, unlike any other. It means they live within me, around me, touching and imbuing all I am and all I do with their love, their wisdom, their healing tendrils. It means that with their help I can dare to alleviate the suffering, the pain, the imbalance of another … perhaps of many others. The plants, the medicine, right relationship. It truly means … everything!
AdriLia Valentin Pedersen is a Plant Spirit Medicine healer in Babcock Ranch, Florida, near Fort Myers. www.AdriLia.com