Happy summer my friends!
My kids are now out of school and the colorful hydrangeas are blooming all around.
It was my birthday a few weeks ago, and I spent it in New Mexico attending, and presenting, at a Curanderismo class.It's always a profound experience, one I wrote about in my book, immersing myself in my ancestral medicines and the desert beauty of the Southwest.
What I learn every year differs. In the past I've learned about the sacred art of limpia, how to work with obsidian, and the power of healing with sound, touch, plants, and much more.This year's lesson was different—and unexpected: It was the medicine of nourishing oneself.
Because I can only get away for a short time, I usually try to cram in as many classes, workshops, and knowledge as possible! But on this trip my whole body, mind, and Spirit spoke to me strongly and said: "Girl, you need to stop and smell the rosemary! Skip the early class and linger in the morning at the beautiful bed and breakfast you're staying at. Do a sun salutation on the lawn. Savor your coffee as you look at the desert sky. Rewater yourself."
This higher knowing was right. I didn't realize how thirsty I was.
I first heard the term "rewater" from a Cherokee seed keeper who had grown up disconnected from her indigenous ways and heritage, but found her way back through a process she called a "rewatering." I felt this deeply.
I use the word "reclamation" a lot—it's in my book's subtitle— but that invokes an almost outside process, taking back something you lost, which has it's own power.But rewatering is different, you nourish and water the seeds that live in you. Maybe they have grown dry or dormant, but rest assured they are there. They live in you. And they can never be taken away. They are just waiting to be noticed, nourished, tended to, and awakened.
I listened to my lesson of rewatering in New Mexico by skipping workshops to have lunch with old friends, and taking time to make new ones at a book club luncheon hosted by a group of local women who read Get Rooted! Receiving feedback about how much they enjoyed the book was so profoundly nourishing for me. It was a real reciprocity; a rewatering.
And after one long, hot, and wonderfully fulfilling day, I even skipped a sacred Temezcal ceremony. Temezcal is not something I can do so often, so this was a big deal to me. But my whole body didn't want to go. You know what I wanted to do instead of sweat? I wanted to SWIM! To immerse myself in water, to held by its buoyancy. To be re-watered.
In New Mexico, I felt how thirsty I was to be with people who practiced Curanderismo, how thirsty I was for alone time and how thirsty I was for connection and friendship. How thirsty I was for reciprocity. To not only just give, but to receive, to not only take in knowledge, but to swim in the truth of it.
This summer, and season, I intend to rewater via:
—Friendship & connection
—Movement
—Quiet mornings and moments to infuse myself in nature, beauty and wonder
—Joy and play
—My Curanderismo community
—Writing
—Less input, more integration of what I already know
—Water: lakes, oceans, pools, waterparks, and ways I don't even know yet!
I imagine all this watering will allow me to flourish and really be there for my family, friends, clients, and the world.
So, my dear friend, I'll ask YOU: what in your life needs watering? What seeds or wants live inside you that need your attention to flourish and break through the soil? I suggest taking a moment to sit in the shade, drink some water, place your hand over heart or belly, and ask yourself what in you needs to be re-watered? Maybe it's your creativity. Your friendships. Your aching body.
Please listen and nourish yourselves. And let me know what comes up for you! And thank you, my friends, for continuing to water me. I am so grateful.
Sending you so much love and joy this summer!
Ometeotl!
Robyn
PS- We will rewater ourselves at my Get Rooted weekend retreat, Aug. 23-25, 2024 in Rhinebeck, NY, join us!
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